Welcome to GeoPath!
GeoPath is a peer-to-peer mentorship initiative led by the UW Madison Geoscience Graduate Student Association (GGSA). We seek to open the doors of Geoscience to a range of diverse students and collaborators, and level the playing field for traditionally underrepresented groups in the earth sciences. We host a range of educational and social initiatives focused on broadening the perception of ‘what an earth scientist looks like’ in order to open the doors of Geoscience to students from a range of backgrounds. We also support mentoring relationships between graduate and undergraduate students, and seek to collect and share resources regarding financial support and professional development. We hope that the initiatives and experiences shared here will help to foster a strong, equitable Geoscience community for the future!
Ongoing Initiatives
We have a range of ongoing and annual activities–read on below to find out more! We are constantly looking for new ideas and collaborations, so please feel free to email avilla2@wisc.edu or eemixon@wisc.edu if you would like to collaborate or have a question about something on this page!
Diversi-Tea
Hosted once a month, the Diversi-Tea lunch seminar series is aimed at providing a safe space for dialogue about a range of issues regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion in the earth sciences. Past topics have included: ‘What a Geoscientist Looks Like: Sharing Our Stories’, ‘The Leaky Pipeline: Women in Geoscience’, and ‘First Generation Geoscience Experiences’. We meet in Weeks Hall Cline Lounge (2nd floor) and provide coffee, tea, and light snacks!
Mentorship
We believe that peer-to-peer mentorship is one of the strongest tools we have as students! Engaging in undergraduate research can help students hone their interests and make professional connections. To help connect students, we host an annual ‘Speed Mentoring’ event in the fall semester aimed at matching undergraduate students with graduate researchers. No research or extensive class work necessary! Stay tuned for a document outlining current research opportunities in the department.
Looking for mentorship about professional opportunities or life advice? Check out our Open Office Hours program below!
Open Office Hours
Graduate students are more than just researchers! We have a range of backgrounds, challenges, and concerns. We feel that sharing these multi-facted sides of ourselves can help open the door to Geoscience. Our ‘Open Office Hours’ List contains a list of open and friendly UW Madison Geoscience grad students who are willing to discuss a range of topics! This could be a great way to dip your toe into mentorship, discuss options for the future, make a new friend, or get a quick question answered.
Study Nights & Social Events
We think it is important to build community and have fun, so we host finals study nights every semester, complete with snacks and coffee! We hope this will encourage students from all stages to come together to review topics and make new friends. We also host a range of social events, so stay tuned to our calendar or watch out for departmental emails or stairwell flyers!
Field Gear Library
We understand that outdoor gear can be a daunting and prohibitive purchase! We don’t want anyone to miss out on field experiences due to lack of gear, so we are accepting donations of gently used field gear, including camping equipment, field clothing and boots, and personal items (such as backpacks, map boards, and drafting supplies) which will be made available to students for loan. We have a range of gear available for ‘check out.’
Please email Alex Valencia-Villa or Allison Jones to make a donation!
Coming soon…stay tuned!
