One of the things that attracted me most to USC was the emphasis on interdisciplinary studies and the access to research I would have as an undergraduate student. I love how the GeoDesign major enhances and expands upon my coursework with my Environmental Studies major. I am a problem solver by nature, so I really enjoy thinking about how to approach issues from different perspectives. I knew I had found something special when I was first talked to one of the advisors about what could work for an independent research project for one of the required courses in the major. More often than not, my previous advisors had recommended sticking to the known path of here is x, y, and z of what you can do, but this advisor was enthusiastic about my own idea of potentially mapping the kelp forests around Catalina Island. I walked away from that meeting feeling incredibly empowered to study how and what I wanted, while still being able to graduate on time and learn the necessary skills for GIS. The GeoDesign major has given me the opportunity to explore different applications of what I am learning in Environmental Studies and furthermore, has opened up more career/internship/research opportunities, because GIS is an employable skill. I am very excited to see where these combination of majors takes me and grateful for such an awesome program that I found in GeoDesign with the Spatial Science Institute!
