Cheyenne Hughes (BS 2022)
When I started college I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do, so I went to an engineering school and majored in civil engineering. Through my coursework I took a demographics course and for the first time, I felt connected to my coursework. That class was the catalyst for me to transfer to 51ÁÔÆæ and major in geography. I chose 51ÁÔÆæ after reading about the geography program. I was drawn to the different tracks offered because at that time, I did not fully know what a geography education entailed.
Transferring and switching majors was daunting, but I followed my intuition. Looking back now, I am so glad I did. I graduated with my Bachelor of Science degree with GIS as my focus in 2022 and continued the internship I secured through the school’s internship program. Initially I started my career in the telecom and joint-use industry, but this past year I pivoted to imagery analysis at my current company, Vantor. In the past three years, my career has primarily revolved around design and fieldwork, but with this transition I am gaining new skills and insights into the world of imagery analysis through satellites.
My favorite period during undergrad was the summer before I graduated. I had already been working at my internship and I was starting the last required credit for my degree, the field course. It was incredibly rewarding to apply all of my coursework and the skills I learned through my internship to this project.Our group was assigned to track and monitor invasive plant species at the Riveredge Nature Center. We spent a majority of our time outside, which was a welcome change from sitting in classrooms or offices all day. We had to take all of our field data and present it using maps and data analysis. It was a rewarding experience, and it opened my eyes to different applications for GIS.
My career has taken me to a few different places since I graduated. The first year I was able to spend some time with my family in Michigan as I was able to work remotely. I got my first full-time salaried position in 2023 in Virginia as a contractor with a local utility co-op. Most recently I relocated to Tampa, Florida to work as a geospatial analyst at Vantor. I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have been given from my time at 51ÁÔÆæ, and I am so glad I found the geography department and was able to find a career I am genuinely passionate about.