AEOLIAN
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COVER STORY: ON A MISSION TO MARS
On a Mission to Mars Geology graduate works on Mars rover Curiosity team
By Stephen Snyder
Pizza to Mars: Sounds like an exercise in brainstorming. The question is ‘how do you arrive at one from the other’? For Shaunna Morrison (’11), the answer lies in an attraction to geology – a science that connects everything together. Not Your Papa’s Pizza
it, I knew biology was not what I wanted to do.”
“I was studying business at another school, while running Papa’s Pizza in Montezuma and realized that what you learn in business school, aside from accounting, doesn’t always directly apply,” Morrison said.
Working as co-owner and manager of Papa’s Pizza in neighboring Montezuma, Morrison wanted to transfer to a school that was close enough to commute, and she knew that Georgia Southwestern had well-thought-of professors. Intent on majoring in chemistry, her dad suggested a different form of science.
Like many before her, she chose a major in a field that did not suit her. After taking a science class, though, she began down a path that would be out of this world.
Change
of
Course
“I took an introductory chemistry course, and I didn’t have much of a background in science, period, let alone in chemistry,” she said. “It was so fascinating to me to understand the world on an atomic level; that every single thing that you’re touching is made up of atoms bonded in various ways.”
“My father called me one day and asked me if I knew GSW had a geology program,” she explained. “I found the website and was getting more and more interested. Then I thought, ‘what does a geologist do?’ I didn’t realize that geology was something that you could actually study and potentially have a job.”
“It was really eye-opening,” she added. “Suddenly, the world wasn’t as mysterious. I knew that I wanted to go into science after that; however, the school I was attending only had a biology program. I took the biology course, and after taking
By doing a little research, Morrison found that geologists do everything. “Everything that isn’t grown comes from the Earth as minerals and oil – it’s where plastics, fuel and metal come from,” she said.
Humble Beginnings
On
Morrison worked at Papa’s Pizza To Go during her time at GSW. Here she is with her business partner, GSW alum Amanda Dunmon.
the F ield Morrison poses for a picture wearing her hard hat during a Flux Mine mineral collecting trip in Patagonia, Ariz., 2012.
