18 TOWER | FALL 2022 At an early age, Alex Racosky ’15 was rock solid about wanting a future in geology, and Kutztown University helped her unearth the confidence to lead more than a mile below the surface. Today, Racosky is a mining geologist with Resolution Copper, a proposed copper mine near Phoenix, Ariz., that could meet nearly 25 percent of the United States’ copper demand. Racosky grew up in Bethlehem, Pa., and wanted a college experience close to home. She wanted to be near family in her early adult years, and meeting KU’s geology department faculty helped solidify her decision. “I was able to ask questions and it made me feel like it was home – that if I were to attend Kutztown, I wouldn’t just be a number,” Racosky said. “It would be more like a family, and they would be available for me if I needed help.” A CAREER STEPPING STONE The range of geology courses exposed Racosky to several career paths, and graduate school was part of her plans as well. As a strong academic performer, Racosky had the opportunity to pursue scientific research with Dr. Kurt Friehauf, professor of physical sciences, who sparked her interest in economic geology. “Alex succeeded at Kutztown University and in her professional life because she has the audacious wisdom to believe she can learn and do new things, and because she’s taught herself to advocate for herself in an amicable and assertively firm way,” Friehauf says. “She thinks about what she wants to achieve, and then applies herself wholeheartedly toward making those things happen. She’s quite an inspiration.” BY MEGAN SCIARRINO Alumna’s experience at KU leads to her dream job in a copper mine Racosky’s research tested rocks from Namibia to see if they held clues for a possible copper deposit in that area. She joined Friehauf on a visit to the University of Arizona to test the rocks on state-of-theart instruments. In their travels, they passed the copper mine where Friehauf did his doctoral dissertation. That mine had since been depleted, but there was speculation about another deposit about a mile or more down. “I turned to him and said, ‘That sounds really interesting. I want to be a part of that project!’’’ As it turns out, that project is Racosky’s present-day employer, Resolution Copper. Racosky’s research at KU culminated in a presentation for the Geological Society of America in Vancouver, Canada. She said the experience was a major step on the road to graduate school, and it helped give her the courage to leave everything familiar FEATURE
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