RUNNING WITH IT
In a case of life perhaps imitating sport, Molly Pritz '10 (geology), the 2011 U.S. Track & Field 25k national champion who may be the youngest female marathoner at the 2012 Olympic trials, discovered her twin passions by taking a patient path much like what distance running itself requires.
Pritz was drawn to Bucknell on a day of happy alignment. She toured campus on a beautiful day with a great tour guide and enjoyed inspiring interactions with faculty members. "It all clicked," Pritz says. While she intended to pursue environmental engineering, a discovered desire for a community connection led her to her first passion: "Geology is the only thing I'm more passionate about than running," she says. "Bucknell has the best classes, the best professors — it's the best in the field." Her enthusiasm for her newfound knowledge bubbled out everywhere. On runs with her boyfriend, she says, "He came to know every geologic formation we ran by."
Pritz's path to her marathon debut, the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 6, involved the same passion, persistence and discipline that the marathon itself will demand of her.
While she ran one semester of track her first year, Pritz felt that with a sole-sport focus she'd miss out on a lot at Bucknell. Instead she ran with an "impromptu team" of Bucknell friends and alums, allowing her to participate in a dance showcase, join the cycling team and enjoy geology fieldtrips and research projects.
After Bucknell, Pritz spent a year with the competitive Hanson-Brooks Distance Project, where promising young runners with Olympic dreams train full time.
Of her unconventional path to elite-level running, Pritz says that running for the sheer love of it in college relieved her of the pressure and burnout other runners hit at an early age. "I'm more passionate about running because I wasn't required to run," she explains. "Having the support of the Bucknell community even though I wasn't a Bucknell runner set me up for my opportunities now."
–Shana McGough
Marsh talk March 25: 'Ancient Environmental Degradation in Asia Minor'
Ben Marsh will give the talk, "The Archaeology of Ancient Environmental Degradation in Asia Minor," March 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the Forum of the Elaine Langone Center.
Shale group explores independent research
Dozens of economist and scientists gathered at Bucknell to focus on the economic and community impacts of shale energy production.
Travel with a purpose: spring breakers learn, help those in need
Several student groups will spend their spring break learning more about the world and helping those in need.
Dozens of students, faculty collaborate to restore local creek
Miller Run, a Susquehanna River tributary that runs through campus, is the focus of a major collaborative research project involving students, faculty, administrators and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.- Earthquake felt at Bucknell
The 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Virginia Tuesday afternoon and was felt in states stretching from North Carolina to Massachusetts also registered 216 miles away at Bucknell University's seismic station. - Bucknell Magazine: Take me to the river
Students discover history, learn watershed science and practice land-use management on the University’s 444-mile classroom. - Shale Initiative unveils publications database
The Bucknell University Marcellus Shale Initiative has launched a web-based publications database to reference and summarize publications on natural gas extraction topics. - Japan quake registers at Bucknell, students safe
The devastating earthquake that hit Japan last week registered loud and clear at Bucknell University's Seismic Station in Carnegie Hall. 
Ask the Experts: Carl Kirby on Marcellus Shale
Welcome to "Ask the Experts." This week, we ask Bucknell Professor Carl Kirby, who has studied acid mine drainage and the effects of its by-product on streams, to talk about Marcellus Shale and the implications of drilling the Pennsylvania formation for gas.- New tool aids geologists' research capabilities
What's 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 3 feet high? Bucknell's newest research tool, a re-circulating, tilting sediment flume.
