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 51���� and major in geography. I chose 51���� 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 51����, and I am so glad I found the geography department and was able to find a career I am genuinely passionate about. 

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My geography story started in 6th grade. I was required to take a class titled “World Cultures,” essentially an introductory human geography course for middle school students. I immediately fell in love with learning about different people and places, but most of all, I fell in love with the maps.  

My teacher at the time recognized my passion for the subject and asked me to participate on her Maps, Graphs & Charts team in the University Interscholastic League, an extracurricular academic competition. Despite having the flu, I placed first, and the rest, as they say, is history. The following year they made me compete one grade level up, where I placed third and cemented my title as Ms. Maps Graphs & Charts.  

After our family relocated to Europe, I continued my geography studies as part of the International Baccalaureate diploma and went on to study geography and education studies at Oxford Brookes University and geospatial analytics at the University of College London. I worked as a geospatial analyst for a few years before starting my PhD in geography at 51����.  

I started my PhD program at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, studying and teaching entirely from home. It wasn’t until my second year that I was able to step onto campus or meet any of the faculty in person! Teaching was my absolute favorite part of my time at 51����. Despite a background in GIS, I spent five years teaching Geography 110: The World – People and Regions. Each semester I took a new group of students on a journey around the world to learn more about the people and places of different regions, and of course, to study the maps. I loved sharing my passion for geography with each cohort of students, and I always stopped to smile at the thought that the 6th grade version of myself would be overjoyed that I was teaching her favorite course.  

I was very active on campus, acting as a graduate student representative and serving as Vice President and President of the Alpha Mu chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon. My fellow graduate students and I worked hard to plan fun geography events each semester and to grow the geography community beyond the department. Each year I had the privilege of hosting the GeoBowl, something I hope has continued since my departure.   

I finished my PhD in 2025 and have since began a new job as a GIS Analyst for the City of Sheboygan. I love being able to apply my geography background in a meaningful way and continue to serve Wisconsin communities. I recently passed my license to fly drones as part of my work, and I am currently working to obtain my GISP. My advice to geography students would be to never stop learning, as there is always something new to discover. 

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I am currently a Senior Data Scientist at Ashley Furniture Industries. The rigorous statistical and machine learning training I received during my PhD at 51���� prepared me exceptionally well for the transition from geographer to data scientist. At the same time, I have never stepped away from the GIS expertise I developed throughout my master’s and doctoral studies. In fact, that spatial background became a key reason I was hired for my current role. 

From manufacturing to distribution, wholesale, and retail, Ashley Furniture is a vertically integrated company involved in every stage of the furniture business. This structure creates a wide range of data-driven challenges, including business site selection, logistics optimization, and the development of smart warehouse systems. These challenges benefit greatly from combining GIS with AI methods. In fact, the focus of my current work is leveraging spatial features alongside machine learning models to help the real estate team identify new store locations that maximize sales performance. Thus, I am a special kind of data scientist with a geographer’s lens, who brings spatial insight into AI projects to generate meaningful business value. 

My journey with geography began in 2008, when I became fascinated by how remote sensing could be used to address environmental challenges at a large scale. That curiosity inspired me to transfer from automation to a remote sensing major for my master’s degree. During that time, I had the opportunity to attend a guest lecture by Professor Changshan Wu, who would later become my PhD advisor at 51����. I was deeply drawn to his work in urban remote sensing and subsequently applied to join his research team at 51���� in 2011. Beginning in the autumn of 2012, I spent six years at 51���� pursuing my PhD degree. Those years shaped not only my academic path but also my personal life. Milwaukee became my ‘hometown’ in the United States. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a PhD student. Professor Wu is an outstanding mentor –forward-thinking, supportive, and exceptionally skilled at guiding students toward impactful research. The department also fostered a strong academic atmosphere for students to grow. Faculty members were approachable and genuinely invested in students’ success, and I was surrounded by diligent, talented peers who made the research environment both collaborative and inspiring. 

As for my favorite memory, it must be the weekly event held at American Geographical Society Library, where students, faculty, and guest speakers shared their ongoing research. These gatherings helped break down silos across different research areas and created opportunities for collaboration. Listening to others’ work often sparked new ideas for my own research and broadened my perspective on the diverse directions within geography as an extremely comprehensive discipline that integrates a wide spectrum of topics. It was a space that consistently inspired intellectual curiosity and strengthened our academic community. 

Here is advice that I would like to share with the 51���� geography students:  

• Do not limit yourself to what you are doing right now. Take full advantage of the resources the department offers to broaden your network and continually expand your perspective. While it is important to stay focused on your own domain and research tasks, it is equally valuable to step back periodically, observe the work others are doing, and consider how those ideas might create new opportunities for you within a broader context. 
• Do not be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. My own transition from geographer to data scientist was challenging, but it was worth it. Leaving behind the work environment and lifestyle I had known for years came with moments of uncertainty, yet it opened the door to new possibilities and helped me grow into a more resilient and adaptable professional. 

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I began my journey in geography during a year of post-baccalaureate studies at 51����. I was drawn to the field of geography due to the breadth of discipline across the physical and social sciences, and also because I’m a big map nerd. It was during this year of post-baccalaureate studies that several faculty inspired a passion for geography, which prompted me to enroll as a graduate student. I completed my master’s (2014) and PhD (2019) under the guidance of my advisor, Dr. Ryan Holifield, as well as my committee members, Drs. Bonds, Donnelly, Fredlund, Sziarto, and Yoon. My specialization is environmental geography, and my graduate research focused on controversies surrounding the restoration of Milwaukee’s Kinnickinnic River (master’s) and oil and gas development in residential areas of northern Colorado (PhD).     

Following completion of my doctorate, I taught at Central Washington University and then UW-Rock County and the 51���� Department of Geography before joining Wisconsin DNR as a Natural Resources Research Scientist. I currently work for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF) as a Great Lakes Social Scientist and am also an affiliate with NOAA. I am currently based in Alpena, Michigan (pull out your atlas, geographers!) at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) supporting a large, multi-component socioeconomic study on the three Great Lakes national marine sanctuaries—Thunder Bay, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast, and Lake Ontario. As part of this study, I collaborate with researchers and other staff at NOAA, NMSF, West Virginia University (WVU), and an environmental consulting firm.  

Currently, my work centers on leading a social values mapping project in which residents of Great Lakes NMS communities identify locations in the waters and coastal areas of these sanctuaries they feel are representative of different types of social values (e.g., recreational, aesthetic, maritime heritage). Over this past summer, I managed field staff and data collection for a visitor use study led by WVU that focused on recreation and tourism in Great Lakes NMS regions. In my researcher roles, my training as a geographer has allowed me to apply my experience in qualitative and quantitative methodologies with my GIS skills in numerous ways, including study design, data analysis, and visualization. In my current role, my training allows me to contribute a geographic perspective to investigating spatial dimensions of value (broadly defined) that Great Lakes sanctuaries bring to their communities and region, as well as to partner organizations.  

I have many fond memories of my time as a student in the department, and they are too numerous to list. Among them are the department picnics, grad student lunches with colloquium speakers, and social outings with fellow grad students to grab a beer at the Gasthaus, go bowling, or just get out around Milwaukee. Above all, I enjoyed working with numerous geography students over the years as a teaching assistant (and sharing my passion for geography with them), as well as appreciated the incredible amount of support provided by my advisor, committee members, and the faculty, in general.   

Balancing work and life can be a challenge for me, particularly in my current role, but I find that getting out to hike, camp, and generally spending time outdoors is therapeutic and allows me to disconnect from the bustle of work. Living in northeast Michigan provides plenty of opportunity to explore and enjoy the outdoors and has been a refreshing change from city life.  

The advice I would offer to geography students would be to get out of your comfort zone and seize opportunities during your studies to do and try new things that come your way. You never know what or where those experiences will bring you. Also, even though you specialize in a track or subdiscipline of geography, embracing the breadth of the discipline (human, physical, geospatial) will help you be more versatile and valuable in the professional work you do.  

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Being born and brought up in the flanks of Eastern Ghats (Hills) in India, since my childhood, I was always intrigued by spatial processes around me. That fascination naturally attracted me to the field of Geography. As a student of Geography, I was very interested in survey techniques, quantitative methods, and regional planning. In India, after finishing my master’s degree in Geography, I was exposed to the field of Remote Sensing and GIS. As I was exploring options to pursue my Ph.D. degree in the USA, through internet search, I found out about 51����’s Ph.D. in Geography program and the esteemed faculties. I was very fortunate to get admission to the 51����’s Ph.D. program and worked under the guidance of Dr. Changshan Wu. Dr. Wu’s guidance on the application of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to extract information from high resolution satellite images was a life-changing experience for me. As an international student, financial support was one of my criteria for deciding to join 51����’s Department of Geography. Apart from the Teaching Assistantship, the Mary Jo Read Scholarship offered by the Geography Department was extremely helpful. I earned my doctoral degree in 2012.  

Currently, I am working as a Professor of Geography in the Department of Anthropology and Geography at Minnesota State University, Mankato. My training at 51���� helped me evolve as an expert in applications of GISc (Geographic Information Science), remote sensing technologies, econometrics, and machine learning to model geographical data. My primary role at Minnesota State University, Mankato involves teaching numerous GISc classes, serving as thesis adviser, guiding students on their internships, and supervising graduate and undergraduate student research projects. My teaching focuses on Geoanalytics, GeoAI, Geospatial modeling, 3D GIS, Temporal GIS, Web GIS, Utility GIS, Business GIS etc. In my courses, I introduce students to the concepts, theories, techniques, and tools in the context of modeling and analyzing geographical data. Therefore, everything I do every day is related to Geography. 

I have a lot of fun memorials from my time in the doctoral program at 51����. Every Friday, my friends and I would attend our colloquium in the American Geographical Society Library (AGSL) and listening to the speakers was a source of weekly inspiration. After the colloquium, we would go hang out with the speakers or just with friends in the GASTHAUS, where faculty would often join us. I owe Dr. Wu a lot; each time he was there, he would pay for my soft drinks. The annual picnic, holiday party, and many other departmental social events are still very fresh in my memory. In the department, you feel as if you are in a family. During my time, we created the GIS Club on campus; I am guessing that might be the first student lead GIS club in the nation. As an international student, I was also actively involved in the activities of Student Association of India. 

As you grow in your career, it is difficult to maintain a balance between work and life, but we have to somehow make that happen. If I am not doing university related work, then I try to spend as much time as possible with my family. During the summer, I try to travel and explore new places with my family and spend some time in a small garden. In my extra time, I regularly read or watch a lot of ESRI’s educational materials. I don’t consider this work because I find it relaxing. I try to make time for some of the pro bono community work that involves GIS, because I enjoy doing this type of work. 

He also shared suggestions for the students in the Department of Geography; “Enjoy what you are doing. Milwaukee is a great city, and the programs offered by the Department of Geography at 51���� are some of the bests in the country. As you pursue your degree, equip yourself with some technical and soft skills. I tell my students, if you are technically sound then a job is waiting for you. The soft skills are transferable and can be applied to anything you do. If you can make some friendships, then go for that. From my experience, they last long, and you cherish those relationships year after year.”  

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I was fortunate in my career to work on some of the most significant environmental and natural disasters, contributing to both cleanup and enforcement programs. My work at the EPA consistently drew on physical and human geography, whether through GIS, spatial analysis, and remote sensing, or by understanding watershed dynamics, assessing risks and impacts on communities, and addressing environmental justice concerns.  

Looking back, I especially enjoyed the graduate seminars. To me, they were the best part of graduate school. The small groups of students and the enthusiasm of the professors created an environment that pushed us to think critically and engage deeply with the material. My only regret is missing out on some of the particularly interesting human geography seminars.   

Balancing school, work, and life was a big challenge. With the support of my family, I was able to complete the program while working full time. Most weekends and weekday evenings were devoted to graduate school, and my family understood this and gave me the space I needed to stay on track. I made it a point to carve out one night each week to spend with them, and I also set aside a few hours for exercise, which provided important physical and mental benefits. 

I’m a big fan of both physical and human geography, and I always encourage students to explore classes in both areas. In my experience, the two go hand in hand. I also see geography as the best problem-solving science (and yes, I know not everyone calls it a science, but it feels right here). My advice to students is to learn about this: find an important geographic problem that speaks to you and work to improve our understanding of it or even help solve it. 

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In this role, I use GIS and data analysis to translate local zoning regulations into standardized, mappable data. This work not only strengthens my technical skills but also allows me to contribute to a project with real-world impact, supporting a greater understanding of how zoning influences housing, development, and community planning. 

I’m grateful for the experiences and training I received during my graduate studies, which prepared me for this position, and I’m excited to continue growing in the field of geography and geospatial analysis! 

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Dr. Ye has secured over $30 million in external grants, showcasing his ability to attract significant research funding. His interdisciplinary approach has promoted collaboration across 18 academic departments, leading to widely cited publications and contributions that influence policy. Dr. Ye’s dedication to community impact is evident in his projects that tackle socioeconomic disparities, enhance environmental resilience, and improve spatial data accessibility, particularly benefiting underserved communities. 

Dr. Ye shares his memories about the Department of Geography and his Master’s program at UW-Milwaukee with us: “I have a special feeling for 51���� Geography because, when I received my Master of Arts in Geography here in 2002, it was my first degree in the USA. Without the graduate assistantship from 51���� Geography, obtaining a student visa and coming to the United States would not have been possible. Moreover, this was the first geography degree of my life, which laid a solid foundation for my career and subsequent work as a geographer.”  

Congratulations on your outstanding achievement, Dr. Ye!   

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In what way does geography relate to your current work?   

 I work as a Real Estate GIS Analyst for the DNR, which means I work with spatial data all day, every day. That ranges from map creation, to responding to data requests, to web map development and more. 

What is your favorite memory of being a student in the Department of Geography?     

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center for my GIS Internship (GEOG 698 GIS/Cartography Internship). It was a fantastic experience in which I applied and expanded on some of the skills I learned at 51����, got to work on a gorgeous property for the summer, and had the opportunity to work alongside natural resource professionals who were excellent mentors. The American Geographical Society Library on campus is also a favorite! So neat, such a great resource. 

How do you keep the balance between work and life? What do you do for your extra time?  

I am lucky to have a flexible in person/work from home schedule, which is very nice. I’ve also found that working in a field that pertains to your interests and that you’re passionate about allows work to feel less like work! In my free time I love to read, cook, game, travel and to get out into nature. 

Any suggestions for our geography students?  

Ask questions, keep learning, and don’t be afraid to build connections – people skills are super important! 

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What prompted you to study geography? 

As cliche as it sounds, I simply really liked maps. Traveling the world is one of my greatest passions. I love studying a city that I will visit through Google Maps. Once I was in the cities, I admired the maps for transportation, such as subways and trains, which made it so much easier to navigate a foreign city. Maps made me feel more comfortable and excited. Once I took my first geography course, I realized how powerful the geographic approach was in studying a multitude of issues. 

In what way does geography relate to your current work? 

Today, I use GIS every day in my Telecom career. Using GIS, we are able to identify areas to build new networks, engineer those networks, and finally put the cables in the ground/air to serve new customers. It is satisfying to see the whole process from start to finish, all through GIS applications. I also get to train and mentor people on how to use GIS. It can be daunting at first, but many people end up loving the programs to complete their work. 

What is your favorite memory of being a student in the Department of Geography? 

It is difficult to choose one, since many of my classes were fun and thought provoking. However, I greatly enjoyed seeing the PhD students defend their dissertations. It truly showed me how dynamic the study of Geography really was since the topics ranged so greatly. I also loved learning about these students’ passions and how they used a geographic approach to solve issues. 

Do you have any interests or hobbies that you’ve found useful for keeping a good work-life balance? 

As I mentioned before, I love traveling and that will always be a necessity for me. Seeing new cities and remote places really opens your eyes, and you are able to simply disconnect from work. For the usual everyday, I love going on runs with my dog around Chicago. It feels like a mini vacation with my best friend. 

For the geography students at 51����, any advice you would like to share with them? 

Don’t be afraid to take classes you don’t think might interest you. I remember “having” to take a geography class my freshman year of college and dreading it because I hadn’t truly understood what it meant. It eventually changed my life. If you have found your passion, keep following it and keep learning. It’s what makes your academic and professional careers enjoyable (but remember to unplug and focus on other things in life!) 

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