The
GeoFORCE Alaska mission is to:
• Raise high school graduation rates in rural Alaska.
• Encourage students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) majors in college.
• Increase the number and diversity of Alaska residents entering the technical workforce.
GeoFORCE Classroom: Matanuska Glacier
Cover, inside photos: Leif Van Cise, GeoFORCE Alaska. Captioned photos courtesy GeoFORCE Alaska.
from the director
Sarah Fowell, Ph.D., Professor, UAF Department of Geosciences
Every four years I have the opportunity to welcome a new group of ambitious rural students to the GeoFORCE Alaska program and lead them through the First-Year Academy. Meeting the members of the fourth cohort was especially exciting, because this is our largest cohort to date. In June, 2024, 35 students from communities throughout the North Slope, Northwest Arctic, Interior, Bristol Bay, and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta regions arrived at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus to begin their GeoFORCE experience. The program is fun, but it is also academically challenging. I hoped they would enjoy it.
We began with several days in Fairbanks, spending time in the classroom to learn new concepts, practicing rock identification in the lab, and visiting sites of local geological interest, such as the Alaska Pipeline, Fort Knox Mine, and the Chena River. The first day was characteristically quiet, but two days later students were working in teams to make observations and conduct glacier flow experiments. I was impressed by the students’ focus in the classroom and appreciation of the outdoors. It was rewarding to watch them apply what they had learned in a few short days on campus as we visited field sites in Healy and Denali National Park. They seemed enthusiastic.
At the conclusion of the Academy, the students filled out an anonymous feedback forms. We received many very positive responses, such as, “I really enjoyed Suntrana creek/canyon because the activities there were fun but also applied geology” and “My favorite activities were the rock games we played at the university like evolution and rockity rock cause they were really creative and fun”. However, the real measure of students’ enthusiasm for the program is the retention rate: Will they choose to return? In November I was delighted to learn that 33 out of 35 students (94%) have stated their intent to participate in the 2025 Second-Year Academy. I look forward to traveling to the southwestern United States with them to study sedimentary rocks at iconic geological locations, including Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks. I am deeply grateful to sponsors and donors who make the GeoFORCE experience possible for our students, and to the teachers and families who encourage them. We couldn’t do it without you!
— Dr. Sarah Fowell
from the program coordinator
Justine Schmidt
Stepping into this role in the summer of 2023, I knew that I would spend most of the year looking forward to meeting all our students and exploring the world with them. And boy was that true. I had a great time walking on a glacier, hiking in Denali, jumping on sand dunes, and touring a real live gold mine. It was so rewarding to see the excitement on everyone’s face as we went to places and did activities that I had been planning for months.
I have lived in Alaska for a while now, though, and as great as these places are to visit, the best part, for me, was meeting and getting to know all the truly excellent students who participated in GeoFORCE Alaska for the first time this past summer. I had talked with all of you, and many family members, teachers, coaches, principals, and guidance counselors, during the winter and spring but you still all managed to surprise me with your kindness, curiousity, bravery, maturity, and bountiful playfulness. 36 thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen year-olds is a daunting prospect, even to a hardened high-schooler aged program provider. Yet you all made it fun. You helped each other through bouts of homesickness, made friends with people from the opposite end of the state, leapt right into college level geology content, powered through sore feet and tired brains, and most importantly put up with my shenanigans and let me join in on yours.
And now we are already looking forward to next summer’s academy in the desert Southwest! It might be hotter than any of us would prefer, but I know it will be just as wonderful of a trip. I feel so honored that you all trusted us to come on this trip (or let your children come on this trip) and I cannot wait to see you next summer!
— Justine Schmidt
2024 staff
Staff members undergo training through the University of Alaska Fairbanks and have experience relevant to their roles. Day counselors and the support driver are graduate or undergraduate students who have the background necessary to help students apply concepts and identify features in the field. Education Coach Jessica Horowitz is a elementary school teacher with a masters in Geoscience and a background working in the mining industry. Night Counselors remain on call after hours for participants who need supplies or assistance after lights out.
Education Coach
Jessica Horwitz
Support Driver
Kristina Head
Night Counselors
Yesim Goyette and Sarah Finney
Counselors Ada Causey, Emmy Reese, Richard Parsons, and Rina Basaliso
Counselors Roberta Miller, Ryan Oeste, Stephan Knudson, and Xochitl Muñoz
mentors
Mentors add a valuable dimension to the GeoFORCE program, providing real-life examples of geoscience professionals and offering students another caring adult to talk to and learn from.
This year we were fortunate to have three mentors join us: Sam Huisman, ConocoPhillips, participated during our on-the road portion of the trip; Lance Miller, NANA, met us for the tour of the Matanuska Glacier and Jaenell Manchester, Doyon, joined us for the entirity of the First-Year Academy.
Mentor applications are available each spring. We invite employees of our corporate sponsors to experience the GeoFORCE program first-hand as a mentor.
Sam Huisman discussing the Kincaid Dunes with students
Jaenell Manchester with the Doyon region students
Lance Miller with NANA region students on the Matanuska Glacier
What is GeoFORCE Alaska?
GeoFORCE Alaska is a four-year, field-based summer geoscience program for high school students from rural Alaska communities. Each summer, students spend a few days on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus learning geoscience concepts. They then embark upon a hands-on learning adventure that illustrates those concepts.
Applicants must have competitive grades in math and science, submit essays, and be recommended by a teacher or counselor.
To remain in the program, students must complete field-based projects and earn a score of at least 70% on the annual final exam.
Team projects allow students to practice the scientific method while visiting spectacular geological locations around the country.
GeoFORCE Classroom: Dry Creek
Why GeoFORCE Alaska?
Participants must keep their grades up to continue with the program.
They graduate high school at a higher rate than their peers statewide.
GeoFORCE Classroom: Chena River
Who is GeoFORCE Alaska?
GeoFORCE Alaska students are from Interior, North Slope, Northwest Arctic, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and Bristol Bay communites. Data below if for summer 2024. 32 of the 35 participants completed the voluntary, anonymous survey.
Region
Gender
Ethnicity
The fourth cohort at Matanuska Glacier in June 2024.
Wainwright
Kivalina
Nuiqsut Atqasuk
Selawik Noorvik
Deering Kotzebue Shungnak
Hughes Huslia Tanana
Alakanuk
Aleknagik Quinhagak Kasigluk
Kaktovik
Galena Ruby Nulato
• Learn the rock cycle and identifiy the three types of rocks
• Understand weathering and erosion and their importance in the rock cycle
• Learn to use hand lens and scientific observation skills in the field
• Identify evidence of past weathering and erosion
• Understand the role of plate tectonics in mountain formation
• Identify different types of rivers and glaciers
• Learn study techniques and maintain academic rigor
• Make new friends and explore Alaska
Where did GeoFORCE Alaska go in 2024?
1. Chena River, Alaska Pipeline and UAF
2.
3.
4.
5.
7.
Kinross Fort Knox Gold Mine
Savage River, Denali National Park
Suntrana Canyon
Matanuska Glacier
6. Kincaid Sand Dunes
Portage Glacier Visitor Center
Floating down the Chena River in Fairbanks
Studying terms in Denali’s Murie Science and Learning Center
Touring the UA Museum of the North
Playing Rock Cycle games at UAF
Looking at the Matanuska Glacier
Exploring the Kincaid Sand Dunes in Anchorage
Touring Fort Knox Gold Mine
Facepainting with glacial mud
Learning about glaciers outside Portage Glacier Visitor Center
Seeing layers in Suntrana Canyon
Hiking in Denali National Park
Looking forward to Summer 2025
Second-Year Acadmey in the Desert
Goals of the Second-Year Academy
• Identify limestone and explain how it forms
Southwest
• Illustrate the relationship between dunes and cross-beds
• Reconstruct ancient environments based on rocks and fossils
• Find evidence that water and wind can erode rock and explain how this is possible
• Define mass wasting and recognize examples
• Identify an unconformity and diagram its formation
• Compare and contrast Native dwellings in Alaska and Arizona
Antelope Canyon, Arizona Horseshoe Bend, Arizona
Dinosaur Discovery, Utah
Zion National Park, Utah
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Financial reports
$10,000-$24,999
Silver Level $5,000-$9,999
many thanks to our Sponsors
We deeply appreciate our sponsors, whose generosity and sustained commitment allows us to offer the GeoFORCE Alaska experience to students at no cost to their families.
We have a great team behind our mission to inspire the next generation of geoscientists. If you are interested in making a corporate donation or would like to learn about other ways to get involved, please contact us at 907-712-7540 or geoforce@alaska.edu.
