Chris Mitchell's interest in mountains began in his childhood in Montana and has taken him to date across three countries and two continents. Studying mountains in Romania and Spain, as well as the U.S. Rockies, Chris has certainly conquered the physical heights important to all geology majors, but the more significant journey has been an intellectual one, as he seeks to use the skills and knowledge inculcated by faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences to extend his (and our) understanding of the structural development of his favorite range, the Bear Tooth Mountains of Montana and Wyoming. Chris' undergraduate career at the University of South Carolina is but the first leg of what promises to be a lifelong journey of discovery.

Chris has worked with Drs. Jim and Camelia Knapp and Dr. Dave Barbeau in the Department of Geological Sciences to hone his academic skills, but it is the experiences that come from working in the field, and applying what one has learned, that are the raison d'etre of geologists, and Chris is no exception. The view in the picture included here is of the Carpathian Mountain region of Romania, where Chris spent a summer working on an NSF-sponsored project with the Knapps. Yet the value of the experience was not wholly scientific. For Chris, his time in Romania gave him a new perspective of America---the America that others perceive in ways formed by their own cultural experiences.

Chris is an accomplished student, a member of the USC Honors College, a McNair Scholar and a 2005 Goldwater Scholar, as well as the 2006 recipient of the Rising Senior Award in Geology. Chris was born in Billings, Montana to Carol and John Mitchell. John Mitchell is a petroleum geologist, which probably explains Chris's early interest in mountains and his choice of major and career in geology. In fact, Chris anticipates pursuing graduate study in tectonics and sedimentary geology at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious geology programs in the country.

The sky is the limit for Chris Mitchell. He certainly represents what we hope for all students in our college: to know success in a chosen field or discipline and to have the opportunities to exploit that success both within the University and in the wide world beyond. Chris has gone out into that wide world and brought back experiences that have enhanced his life, instilled new perspectives of his place in it, and enriched us all. We are proud to have him named our student of the month for April.

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