ABSTRACT Born in Chicago, Illinois, I am a beneficiary of doors being opened during the 1960s. I was able to attend the University of Chicago Laboratory High School, and after high school, I attended Michigan Technological University. Thinking I’d like to become an architect, I enrolled in the civil engineering program. During orientation week, I discovered the geology department, and as my first class as a civil engineering major was Principles of Geology, it wasn’t long before the hook was set! However, I never really considered a career as a geologist after college because I assumed the draft and the Vietnam War would determine my ultimate fate. But I wasn’t drafted, and, ultimately, I took a job with Shell Oil Company in New Orleans as an “engineer,” though I had a geology degree. Realizing this was not the job I wanted or the place I wanted to be, I sought an adventure by going to the University of Alaska to get a master’s degree. This led to many more adventures and challenges as I learned to adapt to a new environment far different from my past experience. As I finished the master’s degree, I was invited to join the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and began a long career with the Alaska group of the USGS. It, too, has been one continuing adventure, working with and learning from some amazing people through the years. I only hope that others can find their way to their own adventures in the geosciences. There have been barriers thrown up along the way at times, sometimes reflecting that I’m African American. Yet, in all cases, I’ve found ways to adapt or overcome. My style has been to get along, but sometimes I’ve needed to push through barriers to accomplish my goal at the time.