If you ask my mother, it was always obvious that I would be a geologist. According to her, from the moment I could walk I was collecting rocks. Of course, she has forgotten that I also liked to eat paste (not sure what career that would lead to) and she tends to confuse geology with archeology. In fact, I knew nothing about geology until my junior year of high school. I was interested in biology and planned to be a marine biologist. One of the required courses in my school was Physical Geography, taught by Mr. Duane Tonn. One of the requirements for his course was that each of us create a country, complete with climate, landforms and natural resources. This exercise forced me to consider things I had previously either taken for granted or simply didn’t pay attention to.
For example, water didn’t “spring” into existence at the tap, but had to be stored somewhere below ground. Building materials, such as sand, gravel and cement, were not created at the hardware store. The gasoline to drive the vehicles used by citizens of my newly created country was not generated at the local service station. It was while looking at each of these in more detail that I discovered a new and interesting passion – geology. I don’t remember how well I did on the exercise, but I do clearly remember the moment the light went on and I found something that I could devote my life to. After earning both a BS and an MS in geology, it was time to earn a living. I specialized in hard-rock geology and it was not at all obvious how my degrees could be used to generate an income. Through an interesting series of events, I ended up being hired by Mobil and began work in their Denver office. Here I had the opportunity to meet a man that would have a huge influence on my career. Mr. C.E. “Ole” Carlsen was a geologist who had risen high in the management ranks in Mobil. He decided that he wanted to spend more time working with young geologists and stepped down from his management position to give himself time to do this. His constant advice and encouragement, as well as his ability to “guide” a headstrong young geologist, have served me well for the past 30+ years. Ole was an advocate of taking training courses related to subjects that were outside of your discipline. He “encouraged” me to take courses in Reservoir Engineering, Well Drilling and Completion, Economics, Geochemistry and Geophysics. His belief was that you didn’t have to be an expert in all fields, but that it was important to have enough knowledge of a topic to ask the right questions and to understand when you were being told things that didn’t seem to make sense. These two men, one of whom introduced me to geology and the other who taught me how to be a professional geologist, have had an incredible inf luence on my life and career.
I try to incorporate the lessons they taught me, when advising younger colleagues and to keep the thrill of discovery and learning intact in my personal and professional lives. Thank you, Mr. Tonn and Ole. I never expected that my life would turn out as it did and am grateful for your advice and instruction. Do you have a Mr. Tonn or an Ole in your career? Tell others about them, and why not send your stories about them to the Editor of the HGS Bulletin for possible publication.