I grew up in Hollister California. Hollister is a small town south of San Francisco. It is about thirty miles from the sea. It is right on top of the San Andreas fault.

The San Andreas fault is a place where one piece of earth moves passed another. This movement creates earthquakes.

Where I grew up there were lots and lots of earthquakes. In school we had earthquake practice. The teacher would say, "duck and cover!" My classmates and I would dive under our desks to practice for when real earthquakes might come.

Living in such a place made me curious about the earth. In class I gobbled up science facts. I hoped to understand the mysterious power in the dirt below my feet. I fell in love with Geology.

I come from a large family. My father had fifteen brothers and sisters. My mother had six brothers and sisters. I have one older and one younger sister.