What Membership Means to Me
Stephen Johnston

Stephen Johnston, GSA Member since 1986, GSA Fellow since 2013

I joined the GSA in 1986, shortly after having started my Ph.D. My research was facilitated by a GSA Graduate Student Research Grant (my very first grant), and my attendance at a GSA Cordilleran Section meeting in Hilo, Hawaii, was fundamental to my development as a scientist: After my talk, a senior member of the audience took the time to talk to me and convince me that my interpretations were wrong (he was correct — I was wrong). That meeting also featured my first GSA field trip: scaling Mona Loa with J.P. Lockwood as our guide. It was an epic field trip, one that I will never forget. Those early experiences — the financial support, the mentorship by established members of the earth-science community, and the shared love of geology — were fundamental to my development as a geologist. And for that, I am forever grateful to the GSA.

Stephen Johnston
University of Alberta