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William & Mary makes waves at Geological Society of America conference
On Thursday, March 20, the William & Mary Geology Club was announced as the 2025 Regional Champions for their t-shirt design. Representing the Southeastern region, William & Mary totaled 1,427 votes.
Every year, the Geological Society of America (GSA) organizes a March Madness style bracket that encourages collegiate-level geology clubs from across the country to submit their original t-shirt designs. Along with participating in the T-shirt competition, the William & Mary Geology Club also had several students present research at the GSA conference.
Annika Wolle ‘25, an Honors Geology major, delivered a research talk and designed the winning T-shirt design.
Geology Professor and Chair of the Department, Chuck Bailey, is a GSA representative and brought the T-shirt contest to the Geology Club’s attention, as they had yet to submit a design.
Wolle was inspired by the many facets of the geology discipline and wanted to represent them through the shirt’s text that reads, “Geology Rocks.”
“I wanted to make it very inclusive of all the geology disciplines. Most people think about geology and think it's just rocks, but it's actually not. It's paleontology, fossils, climatology, hydrology, geomorphology, and more," said Wolle. “There are so many things. And I also really like puns and everyone's always telling me ‘Geology rocks, you rock.’ So, I thought, well, geology is more than rocks, but it also does rock.”
“There are six sections, and our voting was in March. It was for the whole week, and we went against a different school each day.”
“I feel so grateful for our community, it really is a home. We're a tight-knit, close community, and I think this was only possible because we all support each other and want the community to win.”
Professor Bailey also sent the voting link to Geology Department alumni.
“I think it's a testament to how great our alumni are, as well. They're always supporting us. Like, a few years ago, there was a fundraiser to raise money for study abroad field courses, and the alumni raised $310,000.”
Wolle submitted her design and a month later the Geology Club attended the GSA Conference. They were announced the winner on the same night that the Girls Basketball team played in the first round of March Madness.
“We're enthusiastic to be Geology majors, and I think this t-shirt competition brought that enthusiasm out of us. I wouldn't have done this design if I wasn't passionate about my major and my study. I wanted to do something creative for us before I graduated.”
- Round One: April 22
- Round Two: April 23
- Final Four: April 24
- Final Round: April 25