THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 26, 1996 TAG: 9601240126
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: THUMBS UP
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER C. O'DONNELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
It didn't take long for Kelly K. Greaser, a 1995 graduate of Old Dominion University, to make her mark in the working world.
Greaser, who graduated from ODU in August, was awarded ODU's Outstanding Scholar Award for the university's College of Sciences.
Greaser received the award based on her 3.97 grade-point average and her extracurricular activities, such as Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Gamma Epsilon and the Golden Key National Honor Society.
Not long after graduation, Greaser jumped into her first job as a specialist coordinator with the Navy, a civilian position. Based at the Little Creek Amphibious Base, she is responsible for environmental cleanup on the base.
``It's the Navy's policy to clean up everything, but we have landfills that were in operation during the '50s and '60s, and back then people just didn't know what they know now,'' Greaser said.
Greaser, who recently moved from Western Branch (her parents still live there) to Virginia Beach to be closer to work, has found that environmental problems can blossom from even the most harmless activity.
``We recently had to clean up a site that was caused by the Navy's School of Music,'' she said. ``The Navy Band would have their instruments cleaned and replated here and as a result we had an underground tank filled with chrome, cadmium and lead, by-products of the cleaning process.
``If the tank had cracked or leaked, it would of been a major hazard,'' she added.
But four years of studying geology prepared Greaser for the task and the tank and surrounding soil were removed without harm.
``The cleanup was really a preventative measure,'' said Greaser. ``It's very encouraging to see that the Navy and other groups are so environmentally conscious. They're coming to realize that pollution control saves the environment and them a lot of money.''
Greaser shares her one-bedroom apartment with B.J. (short for Bird Junior), a cockatiel she raised from birth. In her spare time, Greaser and her mother breed exotic birds, mostly love birds and cockatiels. The birds sell for between $50 and $90 each.
``We hand feed the birds because it makes them more personable,'' she said. ``They're really very sweet birds and can live a long time - sometimes 20 years,'' she said.
Although Greaser graduated last year, she's still working on a thesis project for which she was awarded an Undergraduate Research Award from ODU.
``I'm trying to find out the partial pressure of the earth's mantle under Virginia 50 million years ago,'' Greaser said. ``I don't expect it will be much different than it is today, but it's important geological information.''
Greaser's long-range plans include a possible stint out West in mining country.
``I'd like to help the miners figure out where the metals are located and recommend possible strategies for getting to them without harming the environment,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JENNIFER O'DONNELL
Kelly K. Greaser is a 1995 graduate of Old Dominion University.
by CNB