Throughout the year, the American Geographical Society maintains a staff of Scholar-Interns to keep things humming. Our interns help report on the news of the day for DailyGeo, produce new content for our regular Map of the Week and Company Spotlight features, constantly update our social media outlets, create new graphics for our events and initiatives, and help keep our internal contact lists and resources organized.
This spring, we’re happy to welcome two stellar scholar-interns who’ve already put in wonderful work.
Catherine McKenna is a third-year student at the University of Iowa, where she studies Geography on an Environmental Studies track, as well as Studio Art. She has always loved nature, and in college she became especially drawn to the intersections of human interaction and the environment, understood through a geographic lens. She is involved with the Iowa City Integrated Geography Organization, where she helps create GIS resources for local communities. As a current AGS Scholar-Intern, Catherine looks forward to developing her writing skills and expanding accessibility to geographical information. She can be found taking photos, hanging out at the rock climbing wall, or trying to find the best chai latte that Iowa City has to offer.
Mike Wallace is a graduate student in Environmental, Earth and Geospatial Sciences at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. His research focuses on urban ecology, natural resource management, climate resiliency as well as political and labor geography. Current projects include developing interactive web maps for the North Carolina Department of Transportation and mapping invasive plant species for Wake County parks. He holds a B.A. in History with a concentration in Education Studies from Guilford College in Greensboro, NC. A working musician and event planner, he lives in Raleigh, NC with his partner and a high-spirited rescue pup.
We are also happy to welcome back Abby Vandenberg from the Fall, who is in her final year at the University of California Santa Barbara. She is studying Physical Geography and Ocean Science and pursuing a Technology Management Certificate in business. Growing up Abby loved maps, it was not until her first year at UCSB that she found the geography program and realized the countless applications and importance of geography for answering some of today’s biggest questions. Abby spent the summer creating maps in R and enjoying the process of creating spatial depictions from large datasets. Abby is specifically interested in GIS and sea floor mapping, one of the few areas on Earth left to be discovered and fully understood . Intrigued by all things involving the ocean, Abby spends her free time kiteboarding, boating and foiling around Santa Barbara, CA.
And we also are thankful for the return of Jessie Woldstad, a fourth-year student at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she studies Geography Data Science with a minor in Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management. Her research interests include geographic information systems, the use of geographical analysis in current technology, and geographical solutions to environmental issues. Aside from her schooling, Jessie has recently volunteered at a non-profit to help raise money for an organization called Washington Women in Need, where grants are given to single mothers to help them achieve a higher education. While not working or studying, she enjoys hiking and painting landscapes.