We were lucky to catch up with Becky Nesel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Becky, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

As a science communicator, my mission is to make my science – geoscience – more accessible and interesting to all. Geology is one of those sciences that not many people know much about or may have some misconceptions about, and I like to show others how fascinating it is and how much it shows up in our daily life. I am very passionate about this science, but also just learning and curiosity in general. My mission is to share that curiosity, excitement, and passion for learning and hope that it rubs off on everyone who consumes the content I create. A big part of my job also involves sharing the connections between geology and the broader world through architecture, travel, biodiversity, and more. By doing this, I hope that my audience starts to see the world around them in a new lens, and become curious about things they never thought about before. This is important to me because when I was younger I actually was not a fan of science, and doubted myself immensely when it came to trying new things that scared me. I want to show people that even if you think you can’t do something, you should try anyway because you may end up loving it and also being great at it! For me, that’s geology and science communication, but for you it could be changing your career path, learning a new hobby, or even just meeting new friends and creating new connections in your life.

Becky, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Geologist and Science Communicator sharing geoscience in a fun and accessible way. My goal is to share with others the excitement and wonder that I feel every time I learn something new. I find that the more I create and share what excites me, the more my perspective of the world grows and changes for the better. I specifically look for ways that I can connect geology to the rest of the world. For example: building stones and the geologic history behind them, the connection between a location’s biodiversity and the bedrock beneath it, famous rocks like the Blarney Stone or Stonehenge and their geologic origins, and much more. As part of my work, I shares her educational videos and photos on social media, lead geology walks, host and produce a local TV show about geology, and I love to travel and share the geologic history of different places around the country and the world.

My path getting into this field was pretty unexpected. When it came time to apply to colleges and I didn’t know yet what I wanted to study, I remember confidently declaring, “I don’t know what major I’ll pick, but I KNOW it won’t be a science”. Fast forward to about 2 years later, me sitting in a geology classroom about to start my journey of becoming a geoscientist. And by 2023, I had created my own path to becoming a full time science communicator.

I always was interested in rocks and nature as a child, but didn’t realize geology was its own science that people pursued as a career. I wasn’t exposed to real people with geology careers or enough information surrounding the field, so I just wasn’t aware of it at all.

Growing up, I loved being outside and had so many questions about the natural world, but it never occurred to me until my second year of university to actually study this – and I had been so controlled by my own self doubt in pursuing something difficult like a science degree that this hadn’t even occurred to me as an option until I saw it listed as a field of study in my school’s online catalog and spontaneously decided to sign up for that intro to geology class. As I earned my geology degree, I knew that this was the right field for me, and a couple of years after college I began to make videos about why I love this science that many people don’t know much about.

I want to share this feeling of wonder, curiosity, and amazement for the natural world and all its complexities with everyone, in the hopes that it will lead them (you) into learning about something or pursuing a goal that you may doubt yourself in. You may surprise yourself just like I did, and continue to do.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, it’s constantly learning about myself and how I relate to the world around me. Since starting this unique career path, I have done things I never thought I was capable of, and achieved things I never even thought were possible. I know that sounds pretty corny, but it’s true! I’m constantly creating new goals for myself that a year ago I would have not even ventured to say out loud, and I’m always pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone and try new things that scare and excite me. I also love how many wonderful people I’ve met through this journey so far. I have made friends both online and in person, and it’s so amazing to have a community of people who are so passionate, creative, and interested in similar things as I am. I also love connecting with people who have different interests, goals, experience, and knowledge as me because we can learn so much from each other. When I’m having a low moment where I’m feeling unmotivated and doubting myself, it’s wonderful knowing that I can reach out to my community and feel that sense of connection to remind me why I do what I do.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I love talking about this aspect of my journey, because it’s why I’m at this position in my career right now! I graduated with my B.S. in geology in 2019, and immediately got hired as an entry-level geologist at a construction and engineering company. I worked there for a little less than a year, and knew almost right away that it wasn’t the right fit for me. Going into it, I had had all these expectations that my first job would be the exact right fit and I would feel fulfilled after spending my college years working towards this job title. I learned a lot and this time in my life was extremely valuable to me. It gave me a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities, and taught me some valuable lessons. At this job, I really missed learning about our planet like I did in my college classes, and I realized how much I wanted to continue doing that and sharing my curiosity with others. Once I left that job in 2020, I began making videos online about my experience with geology and the reasons I love the field so much. Now, in 2023, it has become my full time job! It’s been a long process to get here, but I’m very grateful for trusting myself and taking that leap of faith to pursue such a different path compared to the one I started out on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://geo-beck.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobeckly/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr2PHLz-PgtZjcXEnZAsmpQ
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@geobeckly

Image Credits
Most photos are mine, but a few are taken by Melody Pilling Photography. These are all the ones of me wearing a green turtleneck and black pants, on a beach full of big cobbles. I believe there are 3 included.