Rachel Whipple

My Actions are the Ground upon which I Stand

Life has a funny way of giving us the most unexpected of surprises. Some are fabulous, and others—not so much. As Robert Frost once said, "Nothing gold can stay." Such is the case with geology. Valleys grow to mountains, and mountains turn to dust. Volcanoes erupt and the ground splits apart. Life rarely stays the same annd that's a good thing.

Rachel Whipple addressed the geology department at the first weekly seminar of the fall 2025 semester, titling her presentation, "My Actions are the Ground upon which I Stand." Rachel is a Brigham Young University graduate of geology. After raising a family, she returned to school, obtaining a master's degree in comparative studies with an emphasis in environmental humanities, as well as a juris doctorate from BYU Law. She currently practices family law in Provo and serves as the vice chair of the Provo City Council and chair of the Redevelopment Agency, along with several local boards and committees.

Rachel began with the following: "Life is not necessarily something you can plan out when you are at your age ... You have to have a focus on something you can do, but you also have to realize that things are going to change. You can end up in really amazing and unexpected places." As someone who began their education with geology and lead to a career in law and public policy, Rachel understands this principle well.

Although she never worked in a career that directly involved her geology degree, Rachel credits much of her success to the skills and knowledge that she gained from her geology background. She came to have a deep understanding of science in general, which has allowed her to communicate effectively and knowledgeably with engineers and other professionals as she helps create public policy. The difficulties of being a woman in a STEM field at the time taught her to overcome adversity and prepared her for future challenges, including raising a family and attending law school. An environmental class that she attended gave her a lifelong appreciation and passion for caring for the environment and what that should entail, and her knowledge of geology helped her in reviewing and passing laws to protect local aquifers.

Throughout the many challenges and changes that Rachel has faced, one technique that has helped her and that she teaches others is a practice of mindfulness and meditation. A large part of this is the Five Remembrances of Buddhism, which teaches the acceptance of the changes in life, and especially the final Remembrance, that "my actions are the ground upon which I stand". The ground that we physically stand on, the Utah Valley, was once a complex water system that appeared far different than it does today. Even the seemingly most permanent is subject to change—a truth geologists know by heart. Every decision that one makes in life leads to new ground upon which to stand, and although you are constrained within the limits of your situation, your agency empowers you to change your circumstances.

Rachel Whipple could never have imagined as a BYU undergraduate studying geology that she would one day become a city counselor. Though, Whipple reminisced, it would be nice to be able to decide who you will be and what your path will look like, you simply cannot know what life will entail five or ten years down the road. And yet, if we attempt to hold rigidly to what we want or think we want, we will miss out on the unexpected opportunities that will come our way. We will add unnecessary constraints that keep us from achieving greatness.

The hope that Rachel has is that her audience will come out of her seminar feeling inspired to make a plan, choose a direction, and then feel confident in reexamining their ground and making different choices as their paths unfold. Amazing and unanticipated choices will open up. She finishes by promising that no effort is ever wasted. Just as geology shows that all things contribute to creating the beautiful formations that we have today, so too do our individual experiences, coming together to shape us into who we are and how we overcome the situations in our lives.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148652/nothing-gold-can-stay-5c095cc5ab679