Graduate Application Assistance Program (GAAP)

GAAP is a free mentorship program, created and operated by current CSU Geoscience graduate students. By participating in this program, you can get advice on a wide range of topics including how to connect with professors before applying, write a personal statement, or how to ask for letters of recommendation. Additionally, volunteer mentors can offer guidance on the technicalities of the application process.  

Anyone who intends to apply to the CSU Department of Geosciences is welcome to sign up for mentorship and we encourage applicants from under-represented and non-traditional academic backgrounds to use this resource.  

Mentorship will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis from October 1, 2023, to December 15, 2023. We encourage you to indicate your interest in mentorship early as we have limited mentors. We look forward to assisting you with the application process! 

Need more information? Email us!

Independence Statement

This program is independent of the CSU Department of Geosciences admissions process. Any participants will remain anonymous from faculty and staff. The views of the graduate student volunteers are their own and do not represent the views of the Department of Geosciences at Colorado State University. Participation in this program does not guarantee admission to the Department of Geosciences at Colorado State University. 

Our Mentors:

Rachel Bernstein

Rachel is a first year MS student working with Jeremy Rugenstein in the GeoPast Group. Her research focuses on reconstructing temperature in northern New Mexico during the Miocene by analyzing stable and clumped isotopes in carbonates. Rachel grew up outside of Chicago and likes to read, run, ski, and sail.

Juliana Curtis

I’m a first-year M.S. student working with Dr. Lauren Harrison in the volcanology & geochemistry group. My research broadly aims to untangle the uncertainty involved with plumbing system configuration within the Hawaiian mantle plume by focusing on the isotopically enriched Makapu’u sequence of the Ko’olau volcano on O’ahu. Besides volcanoes, I love running, listening to music, and playing Stardew Valley.

Ally Detre

Ally is a second-year MS student working with Dr. Daniel McGrath in the Cryospheric Sciences Research Group. She is studying snowmelt development and timing in the western U.S. by utilizing various remote sensing methodologies, existing meteorological station networks, and field observations. In her free time, she enjoys reading, skiing, running, and listening to new music.

Ashley Ford

Ashley is a second-career, first-year PhD student with Dr. Rebecca VanderLeest in the Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, and Microplastics Research Group. She is planning to study the spatial and temporal distribution of directly and indirectly deposited microplastics in recreational environments and remote, snow-covered regions. She enjoys spending her free time hiking, camping, gardening, and reading.

Connor Mertz (he/him)

Connor (he/him) is a second year M.S. student working with Sara Rathburn in the Fluvial Geomorphology lab. His research focuses on the restoration prioritization of several Upper Colorado tributaries in Rocky Mountain National Park. Prior to graduate school, Connor spent several years farming and working for a Conservation District in Montana.

Miriam Primus

Miriam is a MS student studying deformation in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with Dr. John Singleton. Prior to graduate school, she worked as an intern at the USGS. She grew up in Denver and enjoys swimming, biking, and exploring Colorado trails in her free time.

Shayla Triantafillou (she/her)

Shayla is a PhD student in the fluvial geomorphology with Dr. Ellen Wohl. Her research uses a combination of field and remote methods to study biophysical interactions, specifically in-channel wood, and the implications for natural and modified river systems.

Owen Richardson

Taylor Bennett

Ash Khatiwada

Currently a graduate student in the department and interested in volunteering as a mentor?