High School Students Dive into the World of Geographical Sciences at GIS Day Open House

A group of high school students and teachers from 12 local schools experienced a day as geographical science students at the University of Maryland on Nov. 15.

This is the second year the Department of Geographical Sciences celebrates GIS Day with a high school open house. The 2023 High School Student Open House welcomed twice as many students.

After an introduction by Professor George Hurtt, GEOG associate chair and lead organizer of the program, and under the guidance of faculty specialist Valeria Morales, the high school students joined Dr. Naijun Zhou’s GEOG 170 class, “Mapping Our Digital World.”

We got to sit in the front row, surrounded by people from all different levels … It was really cool to be in a classroom and see exactly what I would be learning," said Noelle Gonzales Jackson, a high school student from Prince George's County. "I learned how mapping is used —or weaponized— politically and socially … and that the way you present information has a direct impact on the conclusions people draw from a map.”

Following the lecture, the students delved into presentations by the 2023 high school summer interns, engaging in discussions about diverse research topics such as metro usage, land cover mapping in the Amazon region, malaria outbreak prediction, assessing the effectiveness of tree planting, and more.

The program also featured a campus tour and lunch at a campus dining hal with GEOG students/faculty. Additionally, a dedicated session with teachers was held to invite suggestions on improving collaboration with GEOG.

In the afternoon, the students listened to lightning talks from GEOG graduate students, who presented real-life applications of geographical sciences, addressing issues like climate change and food insecurity.

The day concluded with a session featuring an admissions officer and a student panel, providing valuable insights into UMD's application processes and campus life. Once again, the students had the chance to ask questions, getting valuable tips about applying to UMD and life on campus. 

"When we think about geography, we picture a cartographer sitting in a dark room, unfurling this dusty map and drawing lines. But today, I learned that's not at all what it is ... it was so interesting to see emerging technology about subjects I care about, like climate change, and poverty, and food insecurity. These are the grand challenges on us to solve, especially Gen Z. And how can we solve them? We solve them with geography."

Noelle Gonzales Jackson
High School Student

The High School Student Open house is part of a multi-pronged effort to ignite students' passion for geographical sciences. Learn more about the program by visiting our High School Hub.

Main image: High school students and teachers gather for a group photo in front of LeFrak Hall.

Published on Tue, 11/21/2023 - 12:51