Jessica Zak: Exploring Death Valley and discovering a love for geosciences

Jessica Zak stands for a photo at Badwater Basin. The landscape is flat and sandy. — Jessica Zak, currently a master's degree student in Virginia Tech's Department of Geosciences, stands in Badwater Basin. At 282 feet below sea level, this salt flats area of Death Valley National Park is the lowest point in North America. Photo courtesy of Jessica Zak.

This piece was written in the spring of 2026 by GRAD 5144 (Communicating Science) student Jessica Zak as part of an assignment to write a personal narrative about her research.

Growing up, science was never my strong suit or my favorite subject. My science teachers were somewhat boring and the material even more boring. In high school, there were a small handful of science classes to take: biology, chemistry, physics, and general science. I took the general science class, where we covered a lot of basic, beginner-level knowledge of different sciences. Here I had my first real introduction to geosciences as a subject, but because of how awful my teacher was, I didn’t find any joy or excitement in it.

When I graduated, I went to my local community college, where I planned to earn an associate’s degree and transfer to a local university to pursue creative writing and English. My degree required that I take a year of science classes, and it didn’t matter what subject it was. I found the general science class and took that one, thinking it’d be the easiest.

A crumbling bank in Rhyolite, Nevada. Most of the stone has collapsed into the desert. A green fence gates off the bank's remains. — A bank crumbles into the landscape in Rhyolite, Nevada. Photo courtesy of Jessica Zak.

My instructor was a geologist who studied volcanoes, and he spent a lot of our general science class talking about the Earth. We learned a lot about the Earth’s formation, plate tectonics, rocks and the rock cycle, volcanoes, and other geologic processes. He was passionate about geology, and I loved his lecture styles. I found that I was looking forward to every Tuesday and Thursday so I could be in his class.

Photo of the Mosaic Canyon from the bottom. — The powers of erosion and uplift are on display in the Mosaic Canyon in Death Valley National Park. Photo courtesy of Jessica Zak.

In the winter term, he told our class of an opportunity to take a 10-day long course over spring break in Death Valley. He explained that it would be a hybrid geology and biology course, camping was involved, and students would get hands-on experience being in the field. Space was limited, though, and students had to apply to take the course. I went home and applied immediately. A few weeks later I learned that I was accepted for the trip! I had never been to Death Valley, and I was excited to see some of things we had been learning about in class in real life.

Photo of the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. A couple of people in blue shirts and bushes dot the landscape. — Students are dwarfed by the landscape at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park. Photo courtesy of Jessica Zak.

I remember the first time descending into the national park. I was sitting in a tightly packed 12-passenger van in the window seat as we drove down the side of a mountain. At the bottom of the mountain were massive sand dunes. Against the dark brown mountains, the dunes looked otherworldly and beautiful. Later I learned that those were the same dunes that were used as the filming location for Tatooine in Star Wars. During our 10 days in this national park, we traveled all over. We explored slot canyons made of marble that felt cool to the touch, ventured into a ghost town with crumbling stone buildings tucked up away in the mountains, and stood 282 feet below sea level on bright white salt flats.

I loved all the geology, but I also liked some of the ecological topics we covered in class. To this day my favorite desert plant is the Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), because it smells like desert rain and has the ability to clone itself if the conditions for seed dispersion and fertilization are bad.

Jessica Zak and her class in front of the Death Valley National Park sign. — Jessica Zak and her class pose for a picture at Death Valley National Park. Photo courtesy of Jessica Zak.

It was one of the best trips I ever went on, and it inspired me to change my major to geology. I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for my general science instructor at my community college and the two instructors that led the Death Valley field trip. My experience with this class not only inspired me to become a geologist; it has motivated me to become more involved in science communication. I want to become a professor at a community college or primary undergraduate institution so that I may inspire the next generation of geoscientists.