Transcending the Bachelor's Degree

Muna Shah Graduated with UNT Geography & Economics Bachelor's in 2010

I graduated from the University of North Texas over a year ago, but it seems a lot longer than that. I guess that’s what graduate school does to you. I did not expect my graduate studies to be as ridiculously different from my undergrad as they are, but that’s not to say that I didn’t have any valuable experiences in my bachelor years, because I did. During my last year at UNT, I had to decide on whether to go to grad school or to work. Eventually, I opted for the former – I was still trying to find out what I really wanted to specialize in, and I thought that doing a Master’s would help me realize that and hone my skills and knowledge in the process. 

I am currently in my second (and hopefully, last) year of a Master’s program at the University of Rhode Island in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (I always find that a mouthful, so I just refer to it as ENRE), which is broadly defined as the study of impacts of economic effects of environmental policies all around the world to tackle various environmental-related issues (e.g. the costs and benefits of alternative environmental policies that deal with problems such as air pollution, water quality, toxic substances, solid waste, and global warming [thank you, Wikipedia]). Having graduated from Economics and Geography from UNT, I wanted to put both my degrees to use, so I thought ENRE would be a great way to go, since it incorporates a lot of things I learned in my undergrad classes (e.g. economic policies, sustainability and conservation, statistical analysis, etc.). Thus, I started the program the fall following my graduation from UNT. While I was glad I decided to do this, I was unprepared for the rigors of grad school that were to follow.

The first semester was probably the hardest. Graduate students have more leeway in the sense that we are not required to do as much coursework as we had to back in college, and we are encouraged to do a lot more independent study. That sounds easy enough. Hah, anything but! The beginner classes were challenging enough to scramble my brains for weeks on end; while I had the basics down from my UNT classes, we were required to go into greater depth, to engage in very critical thinking and to address convoluted details.  In addition we must apply theoretical and empirical concepts to real-world case studies. As an undergrad, Google and Wiki were my best friends for information; here, we have to go through scientific studies littered with jargon, actual raw data, professors and personnel within our topic of study to validate any research. Eventually, I was spending hours on a single homework question, and I didn’t understand half the papers or journal articles we were supposed to read critically for each class. Midway through the semester, I was considering quitting grad school (or entering rehab, whichever came first!).   

But every cloud has a silver lining. So there I was, halfway through my first semester, feeling stupid and miserable especially amidst my infinitely more intelligent colleagues and wondering whether I was even cut out for a Master’s degree. Then, to my surprise (and relief) I found out I wasn’t alone, that my classmates were feeling exactly the same way. That helped. We found a common ground and started studying together, doing our homework and breaking our heads on a single problem for two hours (and going through boxes of graham crackers and Nutella, our standard meal plan in our study sessions). In the process, we got to know one another amidst stories of both personal and professional experiences. I’ve learned a lot, not just from the study material but about life in general from my classmates and professors. Eventually, I was exposed to greater tidbits about the profession, fields of experience, the job market and other career aspects from people I got to know through my peers and seniors.  Which goes to show the truth of what everyone at UNT used to tell me: networking pays off. It was a huge opportunity for development, both professional and personal; you never know what you might learn from the simple act of interacting with another individual.

I will always be grateful to UNT for giving me the heads up on how to deal with graduate school. Even though I moved into a field that’s not strictly geography, my undergraduate work is relevant. To my pleasant surprise, a lot of courses I took back at UNT came in handy for my work. Prominent examples include the GIS classes, and the courses on conservation, remote sensing and map-photo analysis that are great resources for a project I am currently undertaking. If I were to pick two courses that proved most helpful for my Master’s work, I would probably choose GEOG 3190 and 4800. In ENRE, we tackle a number of statistical programs on a regular basis, which for me, would have been harder had I not been introduced to them in class and drilled with both theoretical and practical work. I also remember anxiety over the enormity of work I encountered when I was taking the capstone GEOG 4800; I’d never done a publication-style proposal before and I wasn’t familiar with the type of research involved. Now, I no longer fear the words ‘proposal’ and ‘annotated bibliography’ (though I still have my moments…), which comes in pretty handy when you are in graduate school.

 

If somebody asked me as a UNT Geography alumnus for my advice on how to go about one’s way after graduation, I would say, whatever you choose to do in your future, whether work or school, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. For those of you who are considering graduate school for the heck of it, I would like to caution you that’s it’s no joke. It takes real commitment and hard work to make it through, but if you are sincere, the end results will be worth it. Also, make the most of your undergrad life in terms of balancing work and play. Study hard but take time to relax and find yourself. And very, very important – network! Get to know the people around you. A time may come when a little help will go a long way.      

I intend to get a fabulous job right after I graduate with my Master’s, preferably as an out-in-the-field economist or consultant in a NGO working on social and environmental projects (like the Payments for Environmental Services programs that are increasingly recognized) or the international development arena.  I have all types of hopes and aspirations, but for the present, here I am. Grad work is still challenging, but I’m up for it. Be it the crazy comprehensive exams or the insane hours we have to put into our craft, I think I am where I’m meant to be.

 ~Mμηα δђαђ

Undergrads Swaggin at SWAAG!

Hannah Gautsche, UNT Geography Graduate, Fall 2011

First and foremost, I’d like to thank Lisa (Dr. Nagaoka) for inviting myself and others to the Southwest Association of American Geographers (SWAAG) conference in Austin.  Before we left she asked me if I wanted to submit a blog entry about perceptions of SWAAG for the undergraduates who went, what we thought we would get out of it, and then what we actually got out of it.  The experience was incredible.  Geography consists of such an amazing and special group of people, and my last semester at UNT could have not ended in a better way.  Upon our arrival back to Denton, I emailed Allyssa Sobey, Matthew Hendrix, Jeremy Dunn, Sarah McCrorey, and Meagan Hatton asking them what they thought about SWAAG.  Here is the consensus: 

Why we wanted to go:  We wanted to go the conference to get a general idea of what Geographers are researching and to explore our own interests further.  We also wanted to network with other students and professors to expand our knowledge about Geography.  

What we got out of it:  We definitely didn’t expect the conference to be as small as it was, but we are thankful that it was because it allowed us to fully engage in the presentations.  We enjoyed being able to choose the presentations that interested us, which allowed us to better understand how research in Geography develops and is applied.   After attending the conference, we realized how much we love our major and how we love to be part of such a field that relies on multi-disciplinary approaches.  In addition, we felt closer to the UNT faculty; it was heartwarming to be able to converse with our professors on a level that wasn’t necessarily student-teacher related. 

Favorite memories:  Our favorite memories include attending UNT faculty and student presentations of their research and relaxing with everyone over a few beers after a long day of Geography presentations.

In sum, we recommend that other Geography students at UNT go to SWAAG.

Addendum from Dr. Nagaoka - UNT had the largest contingent at SWAAG this year with at least 30 faculty and students, 10 of whom were undergrads.  In addition, two of our undergrads, Chloe Thomas and Cody Brule, won 2nd place in the poster competition (comprised mostly of grad students) for the bike occupancy project research that began in GEOG 2110.   Next year's SWAAG conference is in Las Cruces, NM in October (road trip!).   Hope you can join us!

Perishable Skills in a Global Context

Chad Smith, B.S. Geography, UNT, 2009. Research Manager with U.S. Department of Defense

When I was asked to contribute to this blog, my first thought was, “This will be great!” Then I faced the reality of trying to put my experiences into a coherent essay. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure how to frame the impact of my education at the University of North Texas on my life and career.

Unlike the masses of students who choose to major in geography as the result of an inspiring course or an engaging professor, I chose geography because of a job I already held. I decided to finish my undergraduate degree while I was working as a police officer assigned to the Crime Analysis Unit. I had recently learned GIS through trial and error, mostly error, over the previous year. I knew that many of the problems I was trying to unravel for my employer could be better understood through GIS and geographic principles. A geography degree seemed like a good idea.

I remember the first day I walked into Dr. Oppong’s office. He immediately put me to work on one of his many projects. I knew that I would like studying at UNT because I would be able to apply what I learned. Strangely enough, Dr. Oppong still puts me to work each time I visit his office.

The greatest outcome of my time at UNT is my relationships with the faculty. Even professors I never had for a class, such as Dr. Bruce Hunter and Dr. Chetan Tiwari, make themselves available for advice and counsel on everything from my latest GIS headache to my pursuit of a graduate degree.

I have worked in two positions since graduation in which I could apply my geography skills. First, I worked as a human terrain analyst with a Department of Defense organization. I was tasked with defining the socio-economic conditions of the operating environment. Typically, this required researching the physical terrain and the ethnic, religious, linguistic, and political groups within the area. I also researched the social, economic, and political systems that control the environment, including the informal systems. Part of my job was to include recommendations on ways to address instability. This required understanding underlying causes and identifying second- and third-order effects. I would not have been able to tackle such difficult and important work without the human geography coursework I took at UNT.

The job was extremely challenging and rewarding. The final product for each project was 4 to 6 PowerPoint slides and a 10 to 20 page white paper.  Every six weeks, I was tasked with a new area, and the process of research, analysis, and reporting would begin anew.

Currently, I am a research manager for a Department of Defense program in Afghanistan. I am part of a team responsible for managing over 30 research teams working in the country. I use statistics (spatial, descriptive and non-descriptive) and research methodologies as part of my daily toolbox. I use GIS software, SPSS, link analysis software, and text analysis software tools. I work with both structured and unstructured data. In the coming year, I hope to develop a population estimate for Afghanistan based on aerial imagery analysis combined with surveys conducted at sampling sites throughout the country. I also want to examine the coverage of medical and educational facilities using location-allocation modeling and network analysis.

I work closely with many different organizations in Afghanistan. People in these organizations often ask what I do. I rely on what Dr. Oppong often cited as the definition of geography: “What is where and why is it there?” Oftentimes, I need more than maps to answer that question. I need an understanding of – in no particular order – history, religion, politics, economics, social network theory, statistics, weather, climate, soil types, transportation, natural resources, and language.

I encourage anyone studying geography to maintain their skills in GIS, statistics, and writing. These are perishable skills that require frequent use. Applying your geography degree to a career takes a little imagination and a willingness to “extend knowledge” as Dr. Oppong used to say.