I was first introduced to GIS in high school when I took AP Human Geography. It opened my eyes to how data, maps, and statistics could reveal patterns in human behavior and urban development. Learning that geography wasn’t just about physical landscapes but also shaped social, cultural, and economic dynamics piqued my interest in the field. It was intriguing to realize that geography influences how people live, work, and interact with each other and the environment.
At the same time, I was diving into the field of computer science through courses like Web Development and AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) at my high school, and through a self-started website design business where I created websites for multiple local businesses to help them gain traction online. I enjoyed the problem-solving nature of coding, and I loved how computer science was a technical yet a creative field. When it came time to pick a college major, I didn’t want to choose between my two career interests- geography and technology. I wanted something that combined both.
For me, UIUC offered this perfect combination of both worlds. The Computer Science + Geography & Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) program at UIUC was a unique offering not widely available elsewhere. This major immediately appealed to me because it perfectly balanced my interests in technology and spatial analysis.
On an informal note, cars have always been a passion of mine. As a child, I was surrounded by cars- from my collection of 258 Hot Wheels to my countless car sketches. My passion was something greater than normal- I won an award of being #8 in the country for car design sketches in a nation-wide car design competition for high school students, and got me featured in an automotive magazine. My dad, who worked at a major truck manufacturing company at the time, encouraged me to pursue GIS because of the field’s increasing relevance to the automotive industry. He saw his company evolving toward self-driving trucks and incorporating cutting-edge technology into vehicles. He told me that the future of transportation wouldn’t just rely on mechanical engineering but also on data networks and geospatial technologies to manage communication between vehicles.
That conversation with my dad inspired me to research GIS further. I quickly realized how broad of a field and future-facing GIS truly is. Beyond traditional maps, GIS plays a critical role in modern industries—from urban planning to autonomous vehicles and smart cities. Particularly, I was really excited by the fact that GIS engineers can develop communication networks between self-driving cars and help vehicles “talk” to each other while promoting road safety.
With UIUC’s CS + GIS program, I know I am on the right path to explore how geographic information science intersects with the future of technology, and specifically the automotive industry. I'm grateful to be part of a program that encourages me to think at the intersection of data, geography, and technology, and is going to be relevant and important in the future.