1992 Classroom - Nick Zentner teaches GEOL 101 at Miami University 

Fun video - young Nick, and not much has changed! Still multiple chalkboards, still the little man on the surface, still passionate about what he is teaching, still inspiring young students to become interested in geology. Now he is reaching out to a worldwide audience and inspiring both young and old to look around and learn the story of their landscape.

Life can be like a deck of cards. Some of us get Lucky and get served 4 Aces with a deck like Nick! Or like my experience at school in this subject we unfortunately get served a mix batch of low energy cards and the party never gets started. If I had Nick as my teacher I absolutely would have wanted to be like him to become a geologist because he is stoked and infectious. I am now at 53 years old and now have become an avid home schooled geologist in the school of Nick on the Rocks! I seriously can’t get enough of your RU-vid channel. I’ve seen every upload and I still just want more. Thank you so much brother! You are a total Legend. I was 22 when you filmed this and I was traveling the globe making surf movies. My new wave now is the mountains and you teach me everyday new ways to see my environment here in the Sequoia National Forest 🙏 thank you!

Young Nick... awesome then as now!

The famous VHS Audition tape!

The sounds of a slide projector clicking complete with auto focus. i can almost smell the heat rising from the projector. Yes young people, slide projectors had their own smell and the lens had to be cooled by a fan after you turned the light off so it wouldn't crack. Nick, i am the same age as You and that was half our lifetimes ago! Slide shows were a staple throughout my life. You really took me back to good memories with this one !:-) 🙏💜⚡

What a golden nugget! Awesome!

Amazing show. I can't wait to see the new community lectures this Spring!

What a gem! The Art of Teaching, by one of it's masters.

Would love to have had him as a teacher. Thanks for posting.

Wonderful example of Nick's teaching abilities back then. The students were so engaged and seemingly eager to learn from someone who clearly enjoys teaching and helping young minds understand. Great stuff.

Wow! Nick, the prequel! Thanks so much for sharing your early vid. Interesting to see all the bits that weren't known at the time that you didn't include. In future years I expect someone will put together a video sequence of Zentners development through the decades. But for now, I'm just ecstatic that I get to watch 'Nick Zentner Live' as you assemble and present your excellent geology videos!

Wow, 32 years on and Nick has been looking as fine as today as then. I was born in 1994, turning 30 this month. One of my favourite people to teach me geology for sure.

Passion and drive put to good use brings great service to many. All of his students past and present, as well as the community here, are certainly fortunate for Nick!!

You were and are a natural. A nice glimpse in the past of Professor Nick Zentner.

Even the young Nick, makes Geology fun and exciting.

My goodness it is so cool to see that your passion and enthusiasm for geology hasn't changed since when you first began your career. Love ya Prof Nick! :-)

If I saw Nick’s classes in my senior year in high school in ‘80-‘81 instead of Starsky ‘n Hutch and Streets of San Fransisco on TV, I would’ve pursued my interest in landforms and structure through a career in geology; but he was a freshman in college back then and thus, no “Ned Zinger” to make me smile and see another route.

Oh, this is the best! He had IT from the beginning. ( Aren't we lucky?!?) The slides are awesome, and nostalgic...his future is all ahead. Wow.

Wow nick you look so young but at the same time you look exactly the same, Absolutely brilliant!

This is so awesome. Think of all the people Nick has introduced to geology... It's kind of mind-blowing.

You have come a long way "baby"! The technology haves improved, but you still got the passion. One can tell you love to teach, an also learn. For that we ALL thank you, please stay safe!

Young Nick..lol. I was a sophomore in high school in 1992….🤣🤣🤣. If I would have had more facilitators like him, I might have actually paid attention in school. It’s amazing to see you still have the enthusiasm and energy today as you did then…🍻🍻🍩🍩

Is this the elusive video that you sent to multiple universities? No wonder you landed on your feet Nick, you can see the passion oozing from you!

Nick, I had no idea you were once so young! But seriously, even way back then, you were an interesting and effective lecturer.

Always has been an animated and exciting teacher !

I love that you mentioned Mount Pinatubo. I lived at Clark Air Base 1969-1971 as a high school AF dependent and never heard of it! 20 years after we left, it blew! I experienced many, many earthquakes but my biggest fear was Mount Arayat near the base. I didn’t know until much later it was dormant (or dead) and the back side was gone. The front side of was very visible to us, especially when we lived off base. I love watching your videos, especially the ones about volcanos and earthquakes (no need to wonder why).

Let's see....in 1992 I was finishing my shore tour in Portland OR and about to go on my last extended deployment on USS Nimitz -- soon to retire thereafter. Geology was THE last thing on my mind at the time. My Navy career was winding down and I still had a wife and kids at home to feed, and a career in science was the _last_ thing on my mind (though I'd been an avocational meteorologist for a couple decades by 1992). I probably came _this_ close to running into Nick in 1984; I was in the Navy working for the nuclear power school at the INEL site, my tour in Idaho Falls was winding down and I applied for a job at ISU in Pocatello at the time Nick was a student there studying for his Masters. Six degrees of Kevin Bacon.

As an educator myself, I learned early on to record a class or two and to watch yourself. As difficult as it is to critique yourself, it certainly helps your confidence, which in turns makes you a better educator. I see Nick has done the same thing.

Greetings from the BIG SKY. Being born in 1949 I returned to MSU in 1983 to get mt B.S. in Computer Science. I was 33 at the time.

What an amazing blast from the past 👏👏

I miss those old pull-down maps. Yes, g**gle maps is nice but those were so easy to just pull and go. And slide projectors were so calming.

My goodness! This is fantastic!

Awesome! A perfect opportunity to ask a question I've been pondering : I know sea water was basically the main agravating factor after magma, but was Tonga a rhyolitic explosion?.. Still loving this channel! My niece just started geology at Plymouth Uni - she blames me for introducing her to your channel xx

IMHO, one of the finest lecturers I have seen in my 76 years on the plates. 👍

Thanks for bringing back memories of my school days. Wish I could have been able to be in your class at that time. Technically has changed but your passion for teaching is still just as strong as ever, thank you for sharing your knowledge and teaching everyone that is willing to listen and learn.

I am so darn lucky to be able to see content like this because of one caring individual, Nick Zentnor. been watching you since covid hit and am an avid fan.

That was so cool, Nick. Made me think of your 101 that we got to watch a couple of years ago. Thanks.

So glad to share in this bit of your history. If not for this tape, you may not have had the same career path, and that would have been too bad for the world of education. So thankful that CWU saw the passion that you have for not only the material, but also presenting it in a way that engages the audience. And, thanks to the camera operator. Instead of just a camera in the back of the room, there were closeups of Nick and the slides, which I'm sure helped the folks at CWU to see the potential of their future star. (Though, I'm sure Nick would say he's not a star...)

DAWWWWWW look at that young whipper snapper! Still need to watch your back n forth with Sean Willsey. I've come to really enjoy his channel as well, and I swear I've sat through yout 101 and 102 class a few quarters now. (pretty sure I have an unofficial AA in geology by now haha.)

What a great year that was! Thanks for posting this!

Love it, Nick! Thank you for everything.

Interesting to see what he was asserting about VEI 8 eruptions back then. The 600,000 year Yellowstone repeat hypothesis plus referring to the Lava Creek Tuff eruption as the "most recent" VEI 8 and that humanity has "never seen" one are of particular note. I do wonder when Toba and Taupo were realised to be VEI 8 systems? Toba is particularly notable because humans most definitely WERE around when that blew and in close enough proximity to be badly affected.

Nick- thanks for posting this... really amazing to see that specific classroom after all these years.. so much time and key moments for me in there, including intro GLG the following year.

A good sport to share this.

Nick been the GOAT for a while

Yes, he was quite accomplished even back in 1992 !

Just think... some of those kids are grand parents now! I've said it once and I'll say it again. If I had a Geology instructor like Nick when I was in school (back in the late 60's) my life might have been quite different. Instead of spending almost 30 years in the Air Force flying fighters, I might have been out in the back country chasing rocks!

Oh wow! Nick’s audition tape! 😊

I was there Mt. St, Helens erupted. Go great photo since I had an airplane to fly over later. Was water skiing on the Columbia River during the bug blast.

Young upstart. He has lots of potential.

He hasn't changed much in 32 years, still the Steven Hawking of Geology.

Fantastic! I believe you were in Miami OH then… Was this one of your recruiting videos? Thanks for sharing!

So Kool.

Nick is right. Once I had trapped gas and the presssure continued to increase and it did in fact end up with a big explosion.

Really? Missed you by half a decade.

Back in the Paleozoic.

I saw my first Dead show in 92!

Similar to my professer Bruce Rueger. Fun stuff Nick.

Retro Nick!

Cool!

I've been in YSP many times. Nice looking elk.

The big schools didn't want teachers, only researchers, especially ones with existing research grants.

If I ever wondered how Nick could ever leave the Miami river valley for the scabby land of central Washington that was answered here. The acoustics of Miami were awful!

I wouldn’t mind watching the series. Available?

1992...i was 12.

Who is that young guy? His voice sounds familiar and he looks like someone l know, but it can't be him, coz the guy l know is much, much older. 😅

Is that a young Liz at 11:45?

I wonder if there have been students who learn better with movement have ever mirrored him in class?

🎉oh dear lord who is the kid in front of tgd class?

COTFM!! 😜

Crazy utes aka youths

Maybe a few more pounds and little less hair, but he looks pretty much the same!

So thin