Profile: Julianne “Annie” Daw

Graduated: 2015

Major: environmental geosciences—geology and mathematical sciences

Minor: physics

Hometown: Costa Mesa, California

Annie Daw decided to come to Northland College because she wanted a big change in her life. She’d never lived in the Midwest and was looking for a college with an environmental focus.

“I loved the fact that Northland was a small school in a place that I’d never been,” she said. “I didn’t even visit before making a decision—I just went with my gut—and after I visited in the early summer, I knew I had made the right choice.”

Annie never anticipated she would be making a career out of life’s “simple equations”—geologic time, mineral compositions, and number crunching.

“I have always loved math, so I knew that was going to be one of my majors,” Annie said. “Then, my very first class at Northland was physical geology with Bruce Goetz and I was just captivated.”

Four years later, she has decided to accept a full financial ride to study geology and geophysics of the Delaware Bay at the University of Delaware.

Annie said she found the confidence and skills to apply to graduate schools as a chosen participant in the McNair Scholar program and through her relationships with professors.

“Every single person that I met at Northland has contributed to my growth. I am leaving Northland as a better person than as I entered and I have all of the staff, faculty, and students to thank for that.”

Annie said it is difficult to know what she will want from life in the next few years, but she’s excited for the journey.

“Ready to take what I have learned here and apply it elsewhere. I don’t know what the future has in store for me,” Annie said. “I just hope it is exciting and it gives me the opportunity to continue to learn.”