Major: Environmental Sciences
Minor or certificate: Environmental Geomatics
Award name: Teuvo Airola Memorial Award in Environmental Geomatics
Growing up, I always gravitated towards atlases and encyclopedias rather than reading fiction in my free time. I would spend hours flipping through my copies of Time for Kids Almanac 2008 and World Book Encyclopedia, learning the flags, capitals, and demographics of the countries of the world. I remember being fascinated by how I could see the whole world in all its vastness on the two-page spread of a world map in an atlas. I viewed maps and geography as essential knowledge, so I committed to memory as much of the information in these books as possible.
As I got older, I retained my fondness for geography but chose to major in Environmental Sciences because of my interest in working in a field where I could directly address climate change. It wasn’t until my junior year when I took Fundamentals of Geomatics that I realized that mapping could be a part of my career. I learned how maps can be used to communicate science in an effective and accessible way, and that they are as much about science and technology as they are about art and design. Since then, the coursework for the geomatics certificate has given me knowledge and experience with GIS that has made it possible for me to succeed in my internships and complete independent research projects. These courses have been some of the most enjoyable of my college career and I would strongly recommend that any student who is studying the environment take at least one geomatics course before they graduate.
After graduating from Rutgers, I will begin working towards my Ph.D. at the Princeton University Department of Geosciences. There, I will build on my undergraduate research in hydrological and climate modeling by studying river and ocean biogeochemistry. Ultimately, my goal is to be a university professor and environmental researcher so that I can contribute to efforts to address climate change.
June 2024