Makenzie's GeoVisMaps Blog 2016-01-14 10:44:20

My name is Makenzie Parent and I am a senior majoring in Finance and Accounting from Northern Virginia. I am sad to be graduating this year, but also excited for the next chapter in my life. This summer I will be interning at Deloitte then attending graduate school in DC next fall to get my masters in accounting. A little bit about me- I love hiking and going to the movies with my family, I studied abroad in Budapest, Hungary last fall, and I am obsessed with my dog Brogie who we rescued two summers ago. Last semester I became aware that I still need one credit outside of the business school to meet my graduation requirements. After scrolling through bannerweb I was able to narrow down a few courses based on my schedule and level of interest in the subject. One of my friends, who is a geography major, said she thought this class would be interesting so I decided to register for it. I never thought I would be taking a class related to maps and geography, however I do enjoy venturing outside of the business school from time to time. I have found that classes I’ve taken such as Computer Science, Hungarian, and Vampires in Literature have all taught me a lot about various topics and forced me to think in ways differently than I do in my classes within the b school. I look forward to continuing on that path with this course this semester. Through Maps and Geovisualization I hope to learn how to properly interpret maps and also learn more about how they are created. I think these two skills are especially important now that technology is such a big part of our lives. Without realizing it, I probably use some type of mapping or other GIS technology everyday on my iPhone so it would be interesting to better understand the infrastructure behind those apps. I would also like to learn how this type of technology is being used to benefit people all over the world. I think it would be so cool to work on a project using this technology to help a group of people in need or save the environment. Or even use it to learn more about events in the past that provide meaningful insight to a certain period in time. It seems like GIS technology can be used in many situations that I have never thought about. I look forward to learning a lot about this topic and also taking a break from my b school-heavy schedule this semester.

Rizza Rivera says:

January 14, 2016 at 11:11 am

I, too, have never taken a Geography course and I’m glad that UR, as a liberal arts school, encourages its students to take classes outside of their respective majors. If not, we both probably would have not ended up learning about GIS and mapping, which both permeate our daily lives through the technology and apps that we use.

Shaquille Christmas says:

Makenzie, I think you made a great choice picking a class that is outside of the B-School and completely different to what you have been doing. I hope that you find the class useful and will hopefully get a chance to show off your map making skills during your internship.

Theo Miesse says:

January 14, 2016 at 11:13 am

Hi Makenzie! I love hiking too, and I am absolutely obsessed with my two rescue dogs as well. I am also new to geography and map making, so it looks like we’re in the same boat! Hopefully this class will be refreshing after taking so many courses in our majors (I’m PPEL). I hope you have a great last semester here!

Lena Lee says:

January 14, 2016 at 8:37 pm

hi there!
I am also from Northern virginia!
It’s always exciting to see people from the same area I come from
and I also love knitting! (I just finished a scarf today, actually)
I hope you enjoy your last semester there in Richmond!

Justin Madron says:

January 18, 2016 at 10:54 am

Hi, Makenzie–

Welcome to class! I also enjoy hiking and I am a little obsessed with my dog too–Arlo, a 6 month old goldendoodle. I am excited to have so many different perspectives and backgrounds in this class, I think it will make for a great learning environment. You are right, maps are used in every aspect of our lives and having the skills to interpret and make them is very important. Look forward to having you in class.

Ian G. says:

January 18, 2016 at 1:37 pm

Makenzie, I think it’s cool that you decided to take this class as a senior, when it’s outside the bschool and you have no requirement to take it! Hopefully it’s helpful for you and challenges you to think in new ways than you have in your previous classes outside the school!

Matthew Celona says:

January 18, 2016 at 3:06 pm

Makenzie I am also a b school major and am venturing outside of the b school with this class. I definitely agree with you in that I think learning more about the GIS technology will be really cool and can definitely be applicable in the business world. I’m really looking forward to learning more about maps as a whole.