Graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz
B.S. EAS 2022
Motz
Samantha
California, Santa Cruz
Please briefly describe your current job:
I am a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz in the Earth & Planetary Sciences department. My work currently involves conducting fieldwork at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve monitoring soil moisture in groundwater wells and measuring water potential in oak trees, while also modelling transit time distribution for two adjacent watersheds in the same area. My future work will involve studying the intersection of hydrology and landslides.
What is your favorite part of your current position:
I love the community of my department and the variety of my work. Being able to step away from my uncooperative code to hike around a watershed is a nice reset. It also lets me live in a very beautiful place!
How did your EAS education prepare you for your current job?:
The EAS department well equipped me for my current job and future jobs. Computational intense classes like Quantitative Techniques, Geomorphology, and Earth System Modeling allowed me to build a solid foundation of coding and mathematical principles in their relationship to surface processes. While classes like Structural Geology and Intro to Geophysics gave me a solid background in the content.
What do you wish you had known as an EAS undergraduate in order to land the job of your dreams?:
Apply yourself to everything and anything that your interested in, even if you don't think you'll get it! If you want to go to graduate school, be sure to learn about the GRFP early, try to take the FutureRockDoc's workshop on it, and write it while during your senior year. Having your own money in graduate school can be extremely powerful. Take those harder classes that challenge you. Google your future dream job and make sure your fulfill those requirements. For example, hydrology positions at USGS do require physics II. But overall, take care of yourself, spend time in the EAS club room, and get to know your peers.
