Angela Nebel Presents Discovery at Geology Society of America Convention

PVCC student Angela Nebel joined nearly 5,000 students and professionals who presented original research at this year’s Geological Society of America (GSA) convention. Nebel’s presentation, “The Anatomy of a Rock Slide,” documented her discovery of 500-million-year-old fossils near Sherando Lake, located outside of Waynesboro.

Nebel was one of the few community college students at the conference. Roughly 60 percent of presenters were professionals in the field, often scholars with Ph.Ds or years of professional experience. The remaining presenters were students, primarily graduate students or undergraduates at four-year institutions. Convention attendees hailed from 58 different countries. Specialties ranged from Planetary Geology to Nebel’s own group, Geomorphology and Quaternary Geology.

“Almost everybody involved in geology was there,” Nebel said. “The people there, they were presenting amazing, amazing stuff.”

Nebel discovered the fossils almost by accident. She was collecting samples near Sherando Lake for a supervised study course in geology and noticed a number of fossilized worm burrows partially exposed by erosion. She recognized the formation and brought samples back to PVCC for further study. The fossils date back to the Cambrian Era, about 500 million years ago.

While this fossil formation is common in other parts of Virginia, no one had ever recorded it at Sherando Lake.

Nebel presented her research to other geology students at PVCC. Her professor, Lawrence Tiezzi, encouraged her to submit her abstract to the GSA to see if she could present her work at its annual convention. “When I saw [it was accepted], I couldn’t believe it!” she said.

Nebel showed her poster at the convention in Baltimore in an enormous room next to hundreds of other students and geologists. While there, she had the opportunity to speak with other geologists and learn about their research. As she scrolls through pictures of the conference, her voice becomes more animated and she leans in, pointing out her favorite presentations.

“The most interesting projects for me were the Planetary Geology ones,” she said. “Look, you can see the projects are about Mars, Venus…,” she points out the listings in the schedule of events she received at the conference.

Nebel’s interest in geology began five years ago in her native country of Chile. An 8.8 earthquake rocked the nation in 2010. The earthquake and the resulting tsunami were responsible for over 500 deaths and the destruction of an estimated 400,000 homes, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

As the country reeled in the wake of the tragedy, Nebel began to ask questions. She began to explore the tectonic forces that could cause such widespread destruction. The more she learned, the more her fascination grew.

Her studies eventually led her to China and Tibet, where she saw the Himalayas up close. “I realized, wow, this is real, this is really big,” she said. After that, she was hooked. Although she had graduated from high school years before, she received her GED to jump-start her journey back into education. She was contacted by a PVCC recruiter who introduced her to the opportunities for study at PVCC. Nebel packed her things and prepared to be a student in the U.S.

At first, being a non-native English speaker at a U.S. college was an immense challenge. While her reading and speaking skills quickly improved, she discovered that writing in another language was difficult. “That was my biggest barrier as an ESL student,” she said. However, she persevered, and now plans to graduate PVCC in 2016, then transfer to James Madison University to continue her study of geology. Ultimately, she would like to practice geology professionally in the United States.

She is currently applying for citizenship to make this final dream a reality. She shook her head in amazement as she reviewed the places her path is taking her: from Chile to PVCC, then on to JMU and beyond. “This is the mountain I’m climbing now,” she said.

As for her experience at the GSA, she hopes it will inspire other PVCC students to dream big and work toward their goals. “I want my story to encourage more students; they can reach these levels,” she said.

“Maybe next year we can send another student to the conference!”