"The knowledge and skills I obtained at USC provided me a broader knowledge base that prepared me for my current position as a GIS technician for the Forest Preserve District of Will County in Illinois. As an alumnus of the USC Master of Science in Geographic Information Science and Technology program, I continue to apply these lessons and skills while I collect data about trails and preserve amenities with GPS, manage our extensive spatial database, or help others solve problems with GIS."
"Two classes really stand out in my memory as my favorites: GPS/GIS field techniques and the master’s thesis. The field techniques class taught me that friendship, communication, and teamwork were equally as important as knowledge of collecting data using GPS and addressing data quality issues. The master’s thesis class offered me an exciting opportunity to take the very real problem of managing water rights in Montana and study the ways that I could both contribute to a solution and advance research within the fields of geography and GIScience with the support of my thesis committee. I learned that solving real-world problems using GIS requires a real understanding of both the question being addressed and the people and places impacted by the final solution."
