Jonathan Harvey, Ph.D.

What was your career path?

Following my Hollings Scholarship summer internship and 2007 graduation from Ohio University, I went on to get a master’s in geology from Utah State University, where I studied how flash floods leave their mark on the washes and slot canyons (deep and narrow canyons that are formed from water rushing through and eroding rock). After completing that degree in 2009, I landed a half-year Geological Society of America GeoCorps internship with the National Park Service where I mapped the surficial geology of Lake Clark National Park in Alaska (dream job!). As that wrapped up I decided I wanted to continue my training in geology, so I moved to Santa Barbara, California to get a Ph.D. in earth science. For my Ph.D. research I studied mountain-building and earthquake hazards in the Nepalese Himalaya (also a dream job!). In 2015, I finished the Ph.D. and accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in the Geosciences Department at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado — another dream job. I teach a variety of courses and engage students in research projects focused on the geology of the Four Corners region (the region surrounding the intersection of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico).

How did Hollings impact your career path?

My Hollings internship summer helped me realize that my interests were more aligned with interdisciplinary earth science, rather than specifically meteorology and weather forecasting, which had been my main interest going into it. In part, that turn came from getting to meet and interact with so many peer interns in different programs around the country and hearing about all the cool, diverse projects they were working on.

Do you still use skills learned during your internship or other aspects of your Hollings experience today?

Yes — during my Hollings internship I used GIS a lot and that helped build my confidence in using it as a tool. I ended up using it throughout my graduate research, and I now teach GIS classes at the college level. I also learned a great deal about the role the federal government plays in weather forecasting and data collection, which I now talk about every semester in my weather and climate course at Fort Lewis College. Lastly, having to make presentations to the team to which I was assigned, and to other interns and NOAA staff, really helped me build confidence in my public speaking … which I now do pretty much every day!

What advice do you have for current and future Hollings scholars?

Keep in touch with your fellow interns! They will go off and do a variety of amazing things, and it is a great network to have as you go forward into your careers.

What was your favorite or most memorable moment from your Hollings experience?

Nearly every weekend of our internship summer, I went with a crew of fellow interns at the Boulder office to Rocky Mountain National Park to go camping and hiking. We built a great camaraderie through those trips, and it is where my love of the geology of the western U.S. was born.