SJGS 2023 Student Scholarships
Monica Hinson
Hello, my name is Monica Hinson, and I am a senior Geology major at CSU Bakersfield. I began my
academic journey as an English major and graduated from Bakersfield College with an AA in English. I
planned on continuing for an MA in English, but the pandemic changed my path. I switched to Geology
half-way through my first semester at CSU Bakersfield because I could not stand the thought of spending
my entire career inside all day. I explored the professors at CSUB and quickly realized there was more to
geology than just oil and gas. I have always been fascinated with the ocean, and after sailing on two
research vessels I have found my passion in oceanography. I plan to continue my education at Oklahoma
State University after receiving my BS at CSU Bakersfield.
Marco Rodriguez
Hello, my name is Marco Rodriguez, and I will be graduating this Spring of 2023 with a Bachelor
of Science degree in Geology from California State University, Fresno. I have always enjoyed the
outdoors and would often go camping with family, but it wasn’t until I returned to college at 32
years old in 2017 and took my first geology course that I knew what I wanted to study. My
interests within geology are geohazards, more specifically mass wasting. After graduation I will
be returning to Fresno State to pursue my master’s degree to study potentially seismically
triggered large rock avalanches in the High Sierra. Ultimately, my career goal is to work as a
landslide/geohazard geologist.
Cristian Gonzalez Acevedo
My name is Cristian Gonzalez Acevedo, and I am a first generation student that will walk the stage this spring commencement. My hobbies are mostly rockhounding, camping, fishing, and spending time with my family as much as possible. I am a very competitive person when it comes to anything that I get involved with, but I am also a team player that likes to take in or give out any advice to anyone. My first goal was looking into majoring into astronomy after being accepted to other colleges, but I decided to take physical geology in High school which change my mind to Geology. Also, I stayed to help my parents financially throughout my time at CSUB. I am interested in the resource geology because I would like to be a part of a team that brings in the new era of technology. It is a geologist’s dream to find a new mineral or element. I hoping to be hired on any interesting full time positions involved in resource geology, and pursue a masters in geology soon.
Hannah Warner
I was born and raised in Bakersfield. I love to travel, read, learn, draw, and explore! I jumped into CSUB right after high school. I chose to major in engineering because I was aware my career paths wouldn’t be obstructed if I had a degree with universal demands. But I didn’t enjoy it and, in fact, my first few semesters at the university were miserable. I didn’t make any friends and was failing multiple courses. I found geology in my third semester. I enrolled in Physical Geology to fulfill a GE requirement, but I absolutely fell in love. I instantly switched my major. I’ve always loved earth sciences, but I never figured it was something I could make a supportive career out of. I didn’t have any prior knowledge of college so how could I know? The last 5 years have been awesome! My grades improved and I got myself onto the Dean’s List and I’ve made some life-long friends! I’ve discovered a great fondness in oceanography and paleontology. In the last year (post-pandemic), I did an internship at Scipps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD working with deep sea sediment cores and sailed on two UCSD research vessels as a scientist and student leader. I’m graduating in Summer 2023 and will be attending field camp in Montana through the South Dakota School of Mines. I intend to earn my Master’s degree after a gap year. I have no clue what I want to be when I grow up, but, at least now, I have direction and have an idea of what I want my future to look like. A career around oceanography and/or paleontology is ideal and I will strive to have a life of comfort and satisfaction. My college career has been filled with so many memories; and that’s really all I want for the rest of my life.
Angel Gonzalez Acevedo
I am a first-generation college student and currently a senior looking forward to graduating this May 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in Geology. Some of my favorite hobbies are hiking, collecting rocks and traveling to many locations. I enjoy seeing the view from on top of a mountain and seeing new different landscapes. I believe that got me into geology is the passion to exploring and with this degree I can have a possible to do so. I am interested in learning more about Carbon Sequestration and understand new possible for carbon. After graduating I hope to be hired full time in a petroleum company and invest my time into carbon sequestration team and try to make a change into global warming.
Liberty Rasmussen
My name is Liberty Rasmussen and I am a Senior at CSUB. I am recently married and have a 2-year-old son, so family means a lot to me, and they have been a driving force in my continued academic journey. I have a passion for the Geologic sciences and a motivation to continue learning and experience Earth’s natural wonders. I discovered my interest in Geology during my time at Bakersfield College while fulfilling a lower division requirement and immediately fell in love with the subject. My specific area of interest includes agriculture and soil sciences; however, plate tectonics will always be extremely fascinating. After graduation I hope to land a career working in agriculture or being a part of team that helps finds sustainable solutions to soil degradation and water management systems.