“My confidence grew as the program went along, and I am really glad I learned this very valuable skill for the workplace. Although I would like to apply my skills in an environmental conservation setting, GIS can be applied in almost any workplace so my skills will be useful no matter what profession I end up doing.”

Meet Kim Snow!
GIS Certificate Graduate

Kim Snow graduated from Continuing Education’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Certificate Program at Central Connecticut State University in 2015. Not only was she in the GIS program, but she was doing it on top of attending graduate school in Geography and Sustainability at CCSU. The workload might seem heavy to some, but Ms. Snow was motivated to get the certificate in GIS to strengthen her resume and build skills she would need in her field of work. The GIS program helps students learn to analyze and visualize data to answer questions and solve spatial problems.

Ms. Snow just recently finished her graduate school workload, and is still working on her Master’s Thesis, so her main focus has been school and not work. However, now that her courses are done, she plans to find permanent or freelance GIS work as she finishes her thesis. Her thesis research involves using GIS to analyze past and present aerial photography to study Connecticut’s conifer tree population. In addition to her thesis, Ms. Snow has used her GIS certificate to complete two internships; one with the State of Connecticut Department of Transportation and the othe3r with the Connecticut Weather Center/CTWeather.com.

The GIS program begins at a basic beginner’s level, and Ms. Snow liked that because she did not have prior GIS experience. She stated that the program takes the student from “zero to hero,” as it starts at a basic level and then continuously becomes more advanced. Ms. Snow believes that she would have been overwhelmed by the advanced GIS activities and courses had it not been for the “zero to hero” process she liked so much. Ms. Snow is grateful and satisfied with her GIS certificate. She believes it was the most efficient way for her to learn GIS, and that it makes her resume stand out to potential employers.

If you are interested or want to learn more about the GIS Hybrid Certificate program at CCSU, please contact Christa Sterling at CSterling@ccsu.edu or 860-832-2277.