Terry Wilson grew up in suburban Detroit, Michigan. She first encountered geology, field work and wilderness while at University of Michigan where she earned a BSc in geology, then realized her passion for discovery science in unexplored parts of the world during her PhD research in the Patagonian Andes at Columbia University. After a stint at the University of Zambia, Terry joined the faculty in Geology at Ohio State University in 1985. Colleagues at the Byrd Polar Research Center stimulated an interest in Antarctic earth science that has endured through 23 seasons ‘on the ice’ from 1989 to the present. Wilson investigates the Earth's structural architecture, how continents rift, and the interaction between the solid Earth and ice sheets in Antarctica, using structural field observations and geophysical and geodetic data. She has served in many international leadership positions in Antarctic Science and was honored by the 2018 SCAR Medal for International Coordination.