Chippewa Valley Times

A geology field camp in Wyoming as a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire undergraduate provided Ric Kopp with the confidence and hands-on experience necessary for a 48-year career as a professional geologist in the oil and gas industry.

"It really opened up my eyes to what geology is all about," Kopp says of that field camp during his third year at UW-Eau Claire. "We got to see fossil collecting in the Badlands, volcanic geology in Yellowstone, oil and gas operations in the Big Horns, and some mining operations in the Wind Rivers."

However, the cost of the six-week camp nearly derailed Kopp’s college career. While he was at field camp, he lost six weeks of wages from his $2.50-an-hour part-time job at Huntsinger Farms, located near his parents’ home south of Eau Claire.

Kopp, who was paying his own way through college, did not have the money to pay tuition and other expenses for the 1974-75 academic year. When Kopp informed his supervisor at Huntsinger Farms that he could work full-time that fall instead of going to school, farm manager Eugene Heintz told him that the company would help ensure he had the funds to fulfill his dream of becoming a geologist.

"He said, 'You’re not going to work here the rest of your life. We’re going to help make sure you get your degree,'" Kopp recalls Heintz telling him.

Huntsinger Farms more than doubled Kopp’s wages to $5.28 an hour and allowed him to work all the hours needed to earn enough money for tuition and other school expenses. Kopp worked afternoons, nights, and weekends—sometimes long hours—to keep earning money so he could continue paying for school.

"They didn’t give me that education; they made me work for it," says Kopp, who earned a bachelor’s degree in geology in 1975. "They put importance on setting a goal and working for it. I took that with me in everything I did."

Nearly 50 years later, Kopp remembers what Huntsinger Farms did for him and is now "paying it forward" by helping defray field camp expenses so today’s Blugold geology majors can have similar experiences without financial worries.

Kopp and his wife Jacqueline donate to two funds within the geology department's Adopt a Field Camper program aimed at minimizing student debt for geology students. They contribute to both the Paul Myers and Ronald Willis Geology Field Camp Scholarship—which reduces costs for students attending three-week field camps—and another fund used to buy equipment and maintain high-quality field camp experiences.

Julia Diggins, interim president of the UW-Eau Claire Foundation, highlights this gesture as reflecting "the true essence of philanthropy and giving back." She notes how Huntsinger Farms' support inspired Ric's generosity: "He took an opportunity provided by a wonderful business and turned it into impact that has touched Blugolds for many years."

Dr. Kent Syverson, professor of geology and environmental science at UW-Eau Claire describes Kopp as "an amazing friend" who has never forgotten his roots: "It always brings tears to my eyes whenever I hear it... Ric has never forgotten where he came from."

The New Mexico field camp during Winterim is required for all geology majors while Montana's summer camp is mandatory for general comprehensive geology majors. According to Syverson, these camps are crucial as they allow students to solve real problems like professional geologists do.

"Field camp is the most important thing in geologic education," says Kopp. "You can learn anything you want from a book but you have to get out in the field."

Throughout his career working across various states such as Utah, Wyoming, Texas among others—and even internationally—Kopp applied knowledge gained from UW-Eau Claire's field camps extensively.

Syverson emphasizes how despite professional success; Kopp remains mindful of past struggles: “Ric has never forgotten what it's like being a poor college student.”

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