I had done some work with GIS prior to undergrad and really enjoyed it. I wanted to be able to take what I already knew and expand upon it by getting more involved in the technical side of geospatial studies. Geography is such a broad field with so many applications that are critical to how we comprehend world issues. I think that working on developing the technology that powers geospatial analysis is really important to the development of solutions for pressing world issues like climate change, natural disaster relief, food insecurity, etc.

Ideally, I plan to apply my geographic knowledge as a software engineering in a field where I can interact with geospatial analytics. My advice to students considering the GGIS major is: Don't be afraid of learning to code. With a little bit of computer science knowledge, you can take your career, research, or whatever you want to do so much further.