Megan Wong: I am enthralled with learning about Earth’s processes, nature, and its constant cycles. My high school’s camping trip to Yosemite exponentially propelled my curiosity to explore and survey my surrounding natural environments. I now have extensive experience having been on various hiking trips throughout California. I also became passionate about the intricacies of the interconnection between plants, animals and their environments.
I became extremely interested in environmental and climate science after witnessing the increase in occurrence of large-scale wildfires in California. Experiencing first hand California’s warming climate effects such as recent wildfires has made me want to focus my studies on rapidly changing climate and what it means for our environment.
I chose my GIS and Sustainability minor along with my Environmental Studies major because of GIS technology encourages me to collaborate with other pioneers and leaders in environmental research. I am a kinesthetic learner, and the type of large-scale analysis involved in GIS helps me to recognize climate patterns that are easy to miss otherwise. GIS allows me to relay information visually, easy to follow maps that help me with promoting environmentally sustainable projects.
In the future, I hope to use my specialized GIS skillset to increase public, perception and understanding of vital climate data and encourage people to reduce their ecological footprint. - Megan Wong
