Meet Dorian DeHart

His professional accomplishments

“I was able to present my master’s research to Congress in Washington DC. It was a very cool opportunity to discuss the importance of my research to the House and Senate backing the importance of Science in the Appropriation Bills. Here’s a link to read a little about my experience: From Classroom to Congress – School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Blog (missouristate.edu).”

Why did Dorian choose his program?

“I am in the geology and geography graduate program at MSU. I chose it because I am constantly interested in the earth, planets, environment and their processes.”

Why choose MSU for graduate education?

“I wanted to pursue higher education, and Missouri State had a project available that I was interested in, as well [as] had funding”

Favorite class/professor

“I don’t necessarily have a favorite class, but I enjoy having been an RA and a TA, as I like to have an unorthodox teaching style and make class fun. As for professors, they all have their cool and unique backgrounds in geoscience. It’s really cool to go in depth with a professor on pollution and geochemistry and have a conversation with another on geospatial information systems to discuss the difficulties of water and karst in this area. There is a vast and wide variety of knowledge each professor brings.”

Overcoming challenges

“The most challenging aspect of the graduate program is time management! Grad students are extremely busy between being research or teaching assistant, going to class, doing homework, having outside jobs, studying, reading journal articles, writing thesis, all on top of doing everyday necessities and having a social life. My tools for overcoming this is having a schedule or calendar with everything you need to get done during the week, including when to eat. This makes sure nothing gets forgotten and gives the ability to finish tasks in advance to be able to maximize time. This works extremely if I get tasks done early to where I can work on tasks for later in the week and potentially have more time to relax.”

Memorable experiences at Missouri State

“It [is] definitely the comradery of the grad students. We all know when a week is going to be tough, but we all embrace that the times are hard and laugh it off. On the other side, it has the most memorable experiences such as going on field trips. To read and see pictures about different amazing national parks, caves, volcanoes and landmarks is one thing. Actually, viewing them is another. I won’t forget my experiences going out on many field trips, not just see but also learn about many of the United States’ amazing places.”

MSU community supports students

“Community has a lot of importance throughout my graduate program. A lot of times, we are there to support each other when we have questions, and there are a lot of questions we may not know the answer to. Working together has helped me problem-solve and approach problems from different perspectives.”

His graduate education is preparing him for his future

“MSU has prepared myself for future career [goals] by offering a variety of programs, certificates and hands-on experiences. I will be graduating with two graduate certificates in environmental monitoring and sampling and geospatial information sciences. These certificates entail a variety of different classes in where we learn skills for various types of fields in geoscience. It makes us more marketable and broadens what we can bring into being a potential candidate for government jobs, private sector jobs or industry jobs.”

Advice for upcoming #GradBears

“Push forward, whatever it takes. It is a very good opportunity to pursue higher education, especially with the variety that MSU offers. You will face challenging days, but those challenging days become stories of perseverance in the future.”