Kevin Richardson earned his BS in Geology and Mineralogy and his MS in Geology and Geophysics from SES in 1980 and 1983, respectively. Kevin worked as a LtCol Air National Guard serving in Missouri, West Virginia, and New York. Retired after 29 years and last served as Vice Commander of a Command and Control Squadron in the New York ANG monitoring all government satellites operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in Chantilly, Virginia. Kevin also retired after 33 years from civilian government service as a senior imagery analyst at the National Geospatial-Intelligence agency (NGA) last assigned to the full motion video (FMV) office of the Counter Intelligence Center (CTC) at CIA Headquarters.
"Grades don’t mean everything about one’s character. You will succeed more with intellectual and personal integrity, and perseverance."
Where has your degree taken you?
The degrees taught me how to solve problems and not give up. Even though my career did not follow the traditional geology field, the basics that I learned provided a solid foundation for my federal career.
How do you feel your experience, specifically as an SES/geology student at OSU, prepared you for your career or life in general?
Once again, it taught me not to give up no matter how bad things seemed and to research and solve the problem.
What is your favorite memory as a student?
My most experience was receiving the Senior Thesis Research Award (Paleomagnetic Study of the Mahogany Oil Shale, Unita Basin, Utah) under Dr. Hal Noltimier. I tied with Richard Alley that year and received a gold research award coin with my name on the back dated 1980 and a framed certificate dated March 7, 1981. I also received the “Glossary Of Geology”, second edition, that Professor Robert Bates himself gave me at the awards banquet that year. I’ve seen Rich on several science specials on TV and have very fond memories of us in classes together and hitting a few happy hours on High Street after classes on Fridays.
What advice do you have for current and future students?
No matter how bad things seem, never give up. I got the entire range of grades when I was in the department but I refused to quit. Grades don’t mean everything about one’s character. You will succeed more with intellectual and personal integrity, and perseverance.