About Me
My story:
My name is Emory McKenzie. I grew up in Americus, a small town in rural south Georgia. My life growing up was somewhat unique in that I was raised by a single mother who held a doctorate degree. I was the youngest of three male siblings. My birth order and the fact that both my siblings were alpha males created a dynamic that would lead me to become competitive and constantly strive for the best. As a result, I consistently earned honors and awards in both academics and athletics.
As a young child, I was very inquisitive, constantly questioning how/why things work. While I was very aware of my inquisitive nature, I didn’t always know how that would impact my future academically or in terms of my pursuit of a career until I entered college. I spent my freshman year of college at Furman University. As a recipient of a football scholarship, I studied and played football. At Furman, I majored in Physics and Sustainability.
At the end of my freshman year at Furman, I transferred to City College of San Francisco. While attending City College of San Francisco, I obtained my associate’s degree in Human Behavior. After completing my associate’s degree, I enrolled at Valdosta State University. I took my first Geology course at Valdosta State. At that point, I fell in love with the science of Geology. My time spent at Valdosta State was filled with uncertainty because I didn’t know what was to become of my academic and professional future. After long consideration, I decided to attend Georgia Southern University and continued to study geology. Currently, I am a senior who will earn a degree in Geology
It has been a long road to get to this point in my life, and it’s hard to believe it all started at another university. In spite of the fact that I attended four schools, I have maintained a 3.15 G.P.A. over the past four and a half years. While my G.P.A. qualifies me for cum laude status, I’m not satisfied with it. Every time I enrolled in a new institution, I had to start over. I had to take additional courses. I had to advocate to have credits transferred; however, when one takes into consideration the strain it takes to start over, my story is one themed on perseverance and fortitude.
During my undergraduate tenure, I have balanced playing football, working to help my family, and the rigorous courses involved in the geology program coursework. I have become the president of the Geology & Geography Club and secretary of our American Institute of Professional Geologist chapter. I am a member of the Geological Society of America and the Sustainability Club. over the years 2018-2020, I was a member of the Georgia Southern football team. In my final year, I served as a senior captain and was nominated as a member of the team’s leadership council.
At the end of my football career, there was an abundance of free time that allowed a beautiful journey of self-discovery. I was able to invest more time into myself and found my true passions. I found joy in having complex conversations with diverse groups and while traveling the earth to study geology. Fueled by this joy, I decided to move to Houston, TX, study geology at Rice University, and converse with some of the greatest minds in the world.
