Geography: Not Just for Geographers

Susannah Gulick, UNT BS in Geography 2010
Project Manager at M/A/R/C Research

I did not go into Geography to become a teacher, which is ironic because the desire to teach is what set me on the path to pursue a college degree.  I am not sure who becomes a geography teacher anymore, but I do not think it’s the geography major.  Why study Geography then?  The reason for me was simple; Dr. Hudak made a great first impression, the program offered things I wanted to know, and there is the opportunity to wear comfortable shoes (geographers do not wear high heels).  If you are going to put all the time, money, and effort into something it should be what you are interested in; what could be more interesting than interactions with the world around you?!

Unlikely in the making, when I became a geography major I had never taken a geography class; I could hardly read a map, I had trouble with east and west, and had been known to get my left and right confused a bit more often than your average five-year-old.  However, one day I decided to jump in with both feet. 

My sudden interest in Geography was prompted by a somewhat unpleasant conversation with my College of Education advisor, during which I discovered I was no closer to graduating than when I had started because of changes they had made to the degree plan.  I could not bear the idea of pouring endless amounts of money into a degree that did nothing but make me crazy. 

After trying in vain to convince my husband I wasn’t crazy, I declared myself a geography major and never looked back.  From the minute I walked up to the Environmental Science Building, I was hooked.  For years while I worked on my degree my husband continued to think I was crazy; who would hire a geographer, what would I do when I got out of school, would I be “forced” to become a graduate student because I couldn’t find a job?  I am sure students in all disciplines have these same fears and conversations with their supporting loved ones. As time would tell, my fears were for naught; my geography degree has served me very well. I walked into a great job within weeks of graduation. 

I would not have been considered for the position I received without the strong public-speaking skills I developed giving class presentations, or without a firm grasp of quantitative methods.  I loved my classes, and if given the time would have taken every course on the menu.  That said, I loved the quantitative methods and capstone classes most.  I will continue to draw on skills acquired in these classes when I am able return to geography as a graduate student. The classes are designed to push you beyond your limits; they force you to work, rely on, and learn from others. That is not something you will get out of an online program or from a self-taught education.  As a UNT Geography Major, you learn very quickly, there is strength in numbers.  The professors know this too, that is why they are choosy about majors!