David Lehman, Ph.D., '68
Earth & Environment
Many aspects of the F&M experience contributed to my ability to pursue a successful career in the Geological Sciences, but none epitomizes it better than the Senior Thesis on “The Conestoga Limestone”.
I learned later that many Masters Theses were not as in depth or significant. Several aspects contributed –
1) We worked as teams, building team working skills which are invaluable in business and life,
2) It was a field project, with high emphasis on collecting and interpreting the basic data ourselves, not relying on someone else’s writings or interpretation,
3) We had a definite timeline for getting the data collected and getting it written up – the deal had to get closed! – teaching the value of wrapping things up in a timely fashion.
There were many other things that I could mention: encouragement, support and teaching from a close knit faculty and student group included, but the Senior Thesis sums it up best for me.
