"So why did you transfer?"
This is a common question I get when I tell someone about how I started college at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology studying geology and ended college at University of Mary studying history. I've answered this in a number of ways, with the most oversimplified version being "Calculus II was a required class and it was too hard". But here, I'm going to give the much longer answer with an epilogue about my narrow but not very specific goals.
Throughout my childhood, I often thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up. I usually answered the question with one of these three: astronaut, astronomer, or paleontologist. A fourth one, priest, was an answer for a while as well. More on that later.
I became fascinated by outer space, generally speaking, certainly by the age of four if not earlier. I'm still not sure why, but I could point to a few factors: the super-close opposition of Mars in 2003, the landings of the rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and the fun educational CDs about space that my Dad got us. Anyway, the idea of learning about space (especially the Solar System) from close up as an astronaut or probe and far away as an astronomer inspired me to choose either of those two careers. However, a new interest emerged by the time I was five: paleontology.
I'm not sure exactly how I first got into paleontology either, but by the time I was five and especially six, I was reading all the books I could about dinosaurs and other extinct animals. I never lost my interest in outer space, but paleontology was number one for sure. At ages six through eight, I probably knew over a hundred different names of extinct animals and collected many different toys of them. I wanted to become a paleontologist so I could find fossils, preferably dinosaurs. My favorite dinosaur was Spinosaurus, so I supposed my career would take me to Egypt or Morocco. By the time I was in fourth grade, however, my interest in dinosaurs crashed.
In an almost hipster way, I decided that I was too obsessed with dinosaurs and that it was too common for mildly autistic boys my age to be into them. Therefore, although I was into other extinct animals, especially the crocodilian Deinosuchus by this time, I lost my interest in dinosaurs for a few years. Astronomy became my dominant interest and, while I liked the idea of being an astronaut, I thought being an astronomer would give me access (through vision, at least) to the untold wonders of the Solar System and beyond, whereas astronauts are more or less confined to the Earth-Moon system (for now). By fifth grade, with a year of altar serving under my belt, I started thinking about becoming a priest because it genuinely looked like a good faith-related job to have. I knew of at least one astronomer, Nicholas Copernicus, who was a priest. Therefore, in fourth through sixth grade, I thought about becoming an astronomer, priest, or both. However, towards the end of sixth grade, I decided to get back into dinosaurs, mainly because of Dinosaur Home.
In early 2012, I decided to have an online presence for the first time. I had been looking up answers to the question of whether Deinosuchus or Tyrannosaurus could kill the other, and my bet was strongly on Deinosuchus. One of the search results was a webpage on Dinosaur Home with that exact question. So, as a guest, I typed and posted my answer, which became a rant in opposition to the Tyrannosaurus fans. I used the name "JMD", my initials, and the name stuck ever since (on Dinosaur Home, that is, and now on Blogspot). From that topic, I decided to comment on others, often involving just dinosaurs, and so that aspect of my interest in paleontology came back. Throughout middle school, therefore, I wavered between pretty much all the career ideas I ever had: astronomer, astronaut, paleontologist, and priest. Paleontology was slightly on top again starting in seventh grade. I now had the idea of discovering Deinosuchus fossils in new places where there appeared to be gaps. This career goal was mine even into college. Below is my most recent version of a kind of range map for Deinosuchus, which was essentially a guide for my career goal.
In high school, I dropped the idea of becoming a priest, mainly because high school was a time of much religious skepticism in my life, mainly in freshman year. Therefore, paleontology was my main interest and ideal career through all of high school. Soon, it was time for me to consider which college I should go to. I wanted to go to a college where I could get a degree in paleontology, which considerably limited my options. Nonetheless, I considered more than a few, such as Northern Arizona University, Carthage University, Montana State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT), and even two in Alberta. I ended up visiting two: Northern Arizona University and SDSMT. I paid the application fee also for two: SDSMT and Montana State University. By senior year, I committed to SDSMT, where one of my friends from Dinosaur Home was already beginning to attend. Therefore, I was more than ready to go to college. At this time, around half of my class was planning to attend University of Mary, a college I never visited nor had any interest in at the time (because it has nothing even close to a paleontology degree), which ironically would end up being the college I graduated from.
I was ready for SDSMT emotionally, but not academically or experientially. While my freshman year of college was alright in terms of grades, I struggled with Calculus I, though I passed. I had no experience in fossil digs or fossil preparation, either. A combination of these deficits made it hard for me to get any entry-level job relating to geology, both in freshman and sophomore years, so I was just doing retail and house painting. Also, the way it worked at SDSMT is that I had to declare a major in geology, graduate with a Bachelor's, and then go to grad school to earn my Master's in paleontology there. I had no clue about the difficult math courses, paperwork, etc. as a little kid. I just wanted to find interesting fossils. In sophomore year, my Dinosaur Home friend already left. I still don't know why, but it wasn't the math. For me, however, it was the math, specifically Calculus II, that made me consider leaving. I failed the class in the fall semester, then took it again in the spring semester, knowing that if I failed a third time, I would not only get dropped from the geology program but also get dropped from SDSMT altogether. While the spring semester was "only" the second attempt at Calculus II, I was also getting fed up with the lazy and godless culture that seemed to permeate my peers (apart from my friends and those I knew at the Newman Center there). I saw the writing on the wall: Think of a different college and career or you'll fail here.
I thought back to my other lifelong interests and career goals. I had previously thought of becoming an astronaut, astronomer, or even a priest. Becoming an astronaut could be interesting, but that could always be done after I get my college degree. I decided against becoming an astronomer, for that involves even more advanced math than paleontology. As for the priesthood, even though I defeated all my doubts from high school and was growing ever stronger in my faith life, I became convinced through prayer and bible studies that the priesthood, one of three basic vocations (priesthood, religious life, and marriage) is not my vocation; marriage is. Therefore, I started to ponder what it was that tied together my interests in astronomy and paleontology especially. I soon had an answer: the past! Not only was the past traceable through the history of the Universe and the Earth, but I also enjoyed my history classes in school and always got an A or B in those. One of my best friends from grade school may have also kindled my love of history because of his proudly Spanish heritage, which got me interested in reading about the history of Spain and its empire.
In November of my sophomore year, I researched which colleges, if any, have paleontology programs without Calculus. There were none that I could find. With that out of the way, I started researching colleges where my high school classmates already were, and I looked further into University of Mary, where I knew that one of my high school friends was studying history. I decided to call him and ask questions about the history program, and it all sounded good to me. Therefore, by the end of my fall semester, I decided I would transfer to University of Mary, though I already registered for spring classes at SDSMT, so I sat out another semester of classes that felt pointless to me now that I was going to transfer the following fall.
My last semester at SDSMT was crazy. My classes not only included Calculus II again but also Computer Science and Computer Science Lab, both of which drove me nuts because I had to get a code and program exactly right on my assignments to pass at all. There was one night where I got so frustrated I almost threw my laptop. I got all my transfer work done to attend U Mary the next fall before the coronavirus pandemic started shutting everything down at SDSMT. Some of my classes remained (over Zoom or some other virtual format), while others were dropped altogether. I actually dropped Computer Science and Computer Science Lab before the shutdown began, knowing I was getting too stressed over classes that no longer mattered. I finished my virtual classes at home. The sun set on my career at SDSMT, and in this picture we have one of the many marvelous sunsets I experienced in my next journey at U Mary.
I attended U Mary in my junior and senior years of college. Initially, my career idea was to become a history teacher, but I figured if I wanted to do that, I should be a history education major, not just history. I didn't feel like switching majors again, so I decided to see what a simple history degree could do. I then had the goal of becoming a curator or a historian (not just in role but in job title). My GPA kept climbing at U Mary, whereas at SDSMT it was static and mediocre. History was definitely a major that I could thrive in with no Calculus. My first career job came as an intern at the State Archives of North Dakota in my last semester at U Mary. I didn't work many hours, but it felt good to finally have a career job. From then on, I was working or at least volunteering at a history-related place. When I graduated college, I thought maybe I should work at Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming, or some other place related to Red Cloud's War, which I did my senior thesis on. While that is still a possibility, I've expanded my ideas for workplaces. More on that later.
A lot of temporary volunteer/work positions have happened in the last few years, and they all put my history studies to use with the exception of a winter job that involved renting out winter sports equipment. The job I have now even puts my geology studies to use in a major way. Take that, Calculus!
What is my career goal now? In a way, I already accomplished it. By the end of college, it was to have a job I like where a degree in history is ideal. That being said, I would like to work at a place that has to do with some more specific interests: the Space Race, astronomical observatories or dark skies, Deinosuchus, the Spanish Empire, and so forth. Sometimes, my childhood goals still call out to me. I could discover interesting fossils just by joining a public fossil dig or buying land with my favorite formations. I'm not sure that I'll ever pursue a career as an astronaut because of how little time I might spend with my future family that way, but I'm committed to going to the Moon or Mars "in spirit" by watching astronauts launch to those destinations in person. My best chance to accomplish that goal would be to live near Starbase, TX or Cape Canaveral, FL to be right there when it happens.
This sure is a long post. Whether you read the whole thing, it will certainly give some nice background for many of the posts I write in the future.
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