Why did you become a geologist?	How did Montana's mountains form?
		When I was 18 years old, I went to Montana and saw spectacular mountains. I wandered around the mountains to try to figure out how they formed. My mother was actually a geologist, so she probably inspired me without my knowing it. She worked for an oil company, helping them decide where to look for minerals in the deep sea. When I was young, she took me occasionally to old rock quarries to look for fossils and minerals. When I went to college, I wanted to study history. But some great teachers inspired me to switch to studying the Earth.