Through the eyes of a geologist

Last Thursday, after a long day of studying and report writing, I was invited by a friend to an MSF event happening at the library. I heard there was free pizza and as a student, I automatically said yes. Prior to the invitation, I had never heard of MSF let alone the Missing Maps project. For those of you who don’t know, the Friends of MSF are a student run society and require students help as volunteer mappers to map remote parts of the world that are most vulnerable to crisis, whether that’s natural disasters, disease-related or due to conflict. Maps are incredibly important. As a geologist I know the extent of how vital fieldwork is, as it is essential evidence to back up interpretations. Therefore to learn how to digitally map is a new skill altogether. We were assigned to identify settlements in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. This will allow NGOs such as the Red Cross to establish population estimates so that then everyone knows exactly what supplies are needed

With term now fully underway, finding time to be sociable is hard. It’s different to switch off; you’re overcome with a feeling of guilt that my time would be better spent studying. Welcome to fourth year. However, one thing geologists definitely do full-heartedly… barcrawls! When we have time for fun, we certainly know how to have fun. Last week was the Geology PCSB Red T-Shirt barcrawl. We welcome the first-years to Leicester and we show them what it’s really like to be a student studying Geology, AMAZING. I think roughly 150-200 people attended, of whom were both undergrads and postgrads, roaming the streets of the city. This was really strange for me. The majority of people who I knew were only in my year group. Prior to studying abroad at The University of Arizona, I knew people in the years above me since I was a 2 nd  year back then. I’m now back in Leicester as a 4 th  year and I’m seeing all these fresh faces in the department. It was being like a new kid at school.