Elyssa Belding finds everything she was looking for
and more at Wooster

Senior geology major from Geneva, N.Y., takes advantage of academic and extracurricular opportunities

WOOSTER, Ohio — While flipping through the pages of her family’s photo album some five years ago, Elyssa Belding discovered that her great aunt and uncle had attended The College of Wooster. Curious about that connection and hoping to learn more about the College, Belding scheduled a trip to campus from her home in Geneva, N.Y., and after one overnight visit, she was convinced that Wooster was the right choice for her.

“I loved the fact that I could study what interested me most and still have time to become involved in the other activities,” says Belding. “I was also very excited about I.S. (Wooster’s nationally acclaimed Independent Study program, which matches a student with a faculty member in a year-long research project that culminates in a graduate-level thesis, performance, or exhibition).”

Belding, whose favorite high school subject was earth science, decided to major in geology, which provided a gateway to several learning opportunities, including a trip to Israel to study the Matmor Formation in the Negev Desert. “It was an amazing experience,” says Belding, who conducted research there with Mark Wilson, professor of geology at Wooster. “We collected fossils in an effort to piece together a stratigraphic column to better understand the paleo-environment, which is Jurassic in age.” The trip to Israel also allowed Belding to learn more about the history of the region, including sites in Jerusalem, Avdat, and the Timna Valley.

Professor Wilson was impressed with Belding’s courage and enthusiasm during their work in Israel. “The overnight transition from the snowstorms of the northeastern United States to the desert of the Middle East could not have been easy, but Elyssa did it with style,” says Wilson. “She also moved from the empty landscape of the Negev to the crowded streets of Jerusalem with ease. Her scientific work has been characterized by similar diverse skills as she has proven adept in taxonomically sorting out obscure Jurassic gastropods while at the same time analyzing complex carbonate rocks.”

As a student with high expectations, Belding has spent much of her time absorbing lectures in the classroom, conducting research in the lab, and gathering data in the field, but she has still found time for her other interests, most notably music. She was a member of the Scot Marching Band, the Scot Symphonic Band, and the flute choir, and she continues to take private flute lessons with Denise Rotavera-Krain. In addition to music, she is involved with Common Grounds  (a substance-free program house), Wooster Christian Fellowship, and Geology Club.

“I feel that I have learned so much and had an opportunity to do so many things here at Wooster,” says Belding, whose father is a professor of mathematics at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and whose mother is a teacher at a private preschool. “I especially appreciate how professors care for students and how much they are willing to support them through I.S. I really enjoy the environment and the people, too.”

Indeed, Belding has found everything she was looking for at The College of Wooster, and several things she did not expect, including her future husband. She met fellow geology major Michael Krivicich on the first day of freshman orientation in 2005. The two started dating a week later, and they have been together ever since. The couple plans to marry next summer and settle down in Ohio. “Right now, we’re planning to stay in the state,” says Belding. “We like it here, and we are hoping to find jobs in Ohio.”

Down the road, Belding is thinking about graduate school or joining the Peace Corps, but whatever she decides to do, she is confident that her experience at Wooster will provide access to a range of opportunities. “Before I came here, I never thought I would be able to do the things I have done,” she says. “I love Wooster because it gives students a chance to get to know who they really are, what their interests are, and where they see themselves fitting in. My horizons have really been expanded here.”