Amanda Barney, a first-year doctoral student in geography, has been selected for the Texas Leadership Scholars Program, a premier initiative that grants high-achieving doctoral students a scholarship.
Amanda Barney, a first-year doctoral student in geography at Texas State University, has been selected for the Texas Leadership Scholars Program, a premier initiative that grants selected high-achieving doctoral students a scholarship to attend a Texas public research university.
This scholarship has lifted a lot of stress from my shoulders so I can focus on what’s important: my family, my academics, and my research. My family and I have all made sacrifices so that I can obtain my Ph.D., which has been a dream of mine for nearly 20 years.”
During her time as a master’s student at TXST, Barney studied the environmental history of the San Marcos River. She collected sediments and used geochemical analyses to reconstruct climate cycles and environmental changes over the past 1,000 years. This helped her understand the ways ancient and modern floods affect the Central Texas landscape.
As a doctoral student, Barney plans to expand her research to more landscapes and include fire as a new variable. Her dissertation, tentatively titled From Charcoal to Satellites: Reconstructing fire regimes across the Holocene using multiproxy research, tracks and examines wildfire patterns in Texas. Barney emphasizes the importance of this work, considering that fire poses a threat to humans and ecosystems alike.
“The more we understand the nuances of fires, the better equipped we will be to protect resources, habitats, and lives,” said Barney.
Originally, she planned to become a wildlife biologist, but after a field trip to Yellowstone, she found herself being more drawn to the physical environment, rather than the animals. It was then that Barney discovered her passion for the physical sciences as well as paleoenvironmental change.
“We caused a traffic jam because there was a bear, and everyone in the vehicle needed dozens of pictures,” said Barney. “I found myself looking at the waterfall on the other side of the vehicle rather than the bear.”
Barney was selected for the Texas Leadership Scholars Program for her outstanding grades, financial needs, and leadership activities—holding leadership roles in organizations like the Texas State Chapter of the Gamma Theta Upsilon, the Geography Honor Society, Applied Geography Conference, and the Geography Graduate Student Forum.
“I do these things because I love giving back to my university, my community, and my family,” said Barney. “My daughters are watching me, and I want them to be proud of me; many of my decisions are made because of them.”
She also attributes much of her success to the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, highlighting her advisors, Samantha Krause, Ph.D., and Richard Dixon, Ph.D.
"Dr. Sam Krause has been instrumental in helping me discover my niche,” said Barney. “Dr. Dixon was the first professor to make me feel at home in the department.”
“I am blessed to have a loving, supportive family with me on this path,” said Barney. “My mother was my main support and losing her in the spring was devastating; I want to remember her always as the one who believed in me, encouraged me, and kept me afloat through some of the toughest seasons of my life.”
Amongst her professional aspirations, Barney hopes to educate the next generation of physical geographers. At the same time, she feels enthralled with field research and is passionate about collecting primary data, analyzing it, and drawing connections between different proxies.
“Working for organizations like the U.S. Forest Service or the National Parks system would offer great opportunities to expand and apply my research to real-world issues,” said Barney. “Meanwhile, becoming a professor would be a fulfilling career where I could inspire other students and help them succeed in their careers.”
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