Hola! My name is Robyn Henderek and I am one of the four PCP-PIRE Summer 2014 interns. I am a rising senior at Lafayette College in Easton, PA, double majoring in Geology and Anthropology.

Within the field of geology, I am interested in studying paleo-environmental reconstruction especially pertaining to human evolution during the Plio-Pleistocene in East Africa. This past spring, I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Craig Feibel of Rutgers University on the Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project.

My job was to record the stratigraphy of a 200-meter long continental core from Nariokotome, Kenya. In the same vein, I recently returned from a three month-long field course in the Turkana Basin, Kenya, where I studied pre-historic archaeology, vertebrate paleontology and geology.

In spite of this, my interest in rocks began long before I could even pronounce conglomerate. The rocky coast of Maine first captured my attention not for it’s scientific significance but because the weathered schists and beautiful white granite intrusions made for a great playground. I would spend my summer days hopping from rock to rock, looking in the tide pools for crabs and starfish while exploring the small world I lived in.

When I got older, I learned how much more interesting our planet is, both in time and space. Now, I am so excited to be here in the Panama Canal Basin this summer exploring the Miocene.