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 affairs organized.
This spring, we’ve got a great crew of scholar-interns who’ve already put in wonderful work, along with our newest addition the team, Emily Frisan.
Katie Anderson, a senior at the University of Richmond majoring in Geography and Anthropology, returns after working with us this past Fall. Throughout her undergraduate career, Katie has worked as a research assistant with the University of Richmond’s ABSAT Team as part of the NASA Servir Project as well as conducted fieldwork as part of an independent study project in the Peruvian Amazon in Madre de Dios. With geography, she works to make geography accessible to everyone and is passionate about the goals of AGS.
Emily Frisan is a master’s student at the George Washington University studying Geography, with emphasis researching sustainable agriculture and food systems. She specializes in food access for urban areas and hopes to work with community groups, NGOs and schools across the country to increase the number of fresh food items available in communities. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Geography and Multimedia Journalism at California Polytechnic State University, Pomona in Los Angeles County, where she conducted various research on perspectives of aquaculture in the United States with NOAA, socioeconomic access to farmers markets in California, and in media and politics’ attention dedicated to missing women of color during the Gaby Petito case. She currently also works at GW as a communications and marketing assistant to the MS THEM program and Department of Geography to increase her experience working with multimedia and science communication.
Catherine McKenna, who has worked with us for a full year now, is a senior 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.
The American Geographical Society accepts applications year-round for Scholar-Internships in the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms. For more information click here.