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After Macalester

Above: Madeline Marshall ’12 explains how Macalester prepared her for her PhD program at the University of Chicago. Madeline completed her PhD at Chicago in 2018, and she went on to accept a tenure track position as an Assistant Professor at Albion College.

Geology graduates find that their Macalester education has prepared them well for the next steps in life, whether they seek advanced degrees in the geosciences or choose to follow other paths to adventure.

  • Marisa Luft ’25 began working as a Fossil Preparator for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
  • Holiday O’Bryan ’24 is a PhD student at the Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, Austin, researching critical minerals. Holiday hopes to end up working at the nexus of mining and sustainability
  • Lou Miller ’23 spent a couple years working as a laboratory analyst at EMSL Analytical, primarily focusing on asbestos, and has now started as a graduate student in hydrology at the University of Minnesota.
  • Kaitlin Osterman ’22 works for AECOM as a Geologist II in Hawaii, supporting a variety of field operations including groundwater and soil sampling, drilling oversight, and ambient air monitoring.
  • Rock Park ’22 is a Policy Manager for Geronimo Power, working on state legislative and regulatory matters related to renewable energy.
  • Jill Kirk, ’21 is a PhD Candidate in Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
  • Emily Lugthart ’21 worked for the U.S. Forest Service both as a Soil and Forestry Technician. Emily continues her work in conservation as an Agricultural Program Specialist at the Lamoille County Conservation District.
  • Sintra Reves-Sohn ’20 is working on her PhD at UMass Amherst in the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center with research focusing on salt marsh response to tidal flow restoration.
  • Rachel Surprenant ’18 completed both an MSc and PhD at the Univeristy of California, Riverside, with a background in Ediacaran paleontology, focusing on tubular organisms, taphonomy, and microbially mediated sedimentological packaging. She is now teaching as an Assistant Professor of Geology at San Diego City College.
  • Brooke Hunter ’17 completed her PhD at the University of Oregon, followed by a postdoc research postion at Yale University, and is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Appalachian State University. Her research interests focus on the connections between geomorphic processes, soil development, and organic carbon dynamics within the Critical Zone.
  • Anik Regan ’17 worked as a post-bac researcher in the Geology Department here at Macalester College before getting her MS in Geology from the University of Georgia (focused on stratigraphic paleobiology). She currently works as the Geology Lab Manager for the University of St. Thomas, teaching introductory lab courses, helping with research, organizing field trips, and implementing safe lab practices.
  • Sierra Swenson ’17 completed her Masters at University of Georgia where she studied the sequence stratigraphy of the Ellis Group in Montana. After spending time working in West Africa and Guyana for ExxonMobil as a Geoscientist, she now serves as the Assistant Collections Manager at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
  • Cedric Hagen ’16 completed his PhD at Oregon State University, where he is studied chemostratigraphy and carbonate sedimentology, followed by a post-doc at Princeton University. He now works for Battele as a National Ecological Observatory Network Research and Data Scientist.
  • Bolton Howes ’15 completed his master’s in geology at the University of Georgia, and his PhD at Princeton University. He is currently teaching as an Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Science at Wheaton College.