“From marketing and business, to medical, to sports, to sociology, and nearly everything in between, if you can think of a way to map it, GIS can be beneficial to you!”
Meet Gregory Benoit!
GIS Certificate Graduate
Gregory Benoit graduated from the Continuing Education Department’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Certificate Program in 2015. He currently works as a Planner for an internationally ranked engineering consulting firm, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff. He “wholeheartedly believes” that the GIS Certificate program helped set him apart from other applicants and heavily influenced his eventual hiring at the company. Mr. Benoit even used some of the assignments from the course as an example of his GIS capabilities during the interview process! To this day, he utilizes GIS on a regular basis in his work position, and he gives credit to the CCSU GIS Certificate Program for providing him with the abilities to do so. The GIS program helps students learn to analyze and visualize data to answer questions and solve spatial problems.
Mr. Benoit joined the GIS program because he knew it would “benefit and enhance” his major and career. His favorite part of the program was the instructors, Professors Thad Dymkowski and Scott Roberts. He explained that the instructors did a great job of “balancing time spent on theory and practical applications.” Mr. Benoit believes that “understanding the theory behind GIS, what you are doing, and how it works, is vital in determining how best to tackle real world problems using mapping and analysis.” He thanks Professors Dymkowski and Roberts for the way they taught the course and their willingness to help students.
After his experiences, Mr. Benoit recommends the GIS program to students of every and any field. While Mr. Benoit focuses in Geography, he explained that GIS can be applied to many more fields than the one he focuses in, “From marketing and business, to medical, to sports, to sociology, and nearly everything in between, if you can think of a way to map it, GIS can be beneficial to you!” The former student wants future students to know that during the GIS program, students will get out what they put in. He explained that the program will give everyone the information they need on how GIS works and how it can be applied in the real world, but that how one applies this knowledge is entirely up to themselves. He also has advice for future and current GIS students, “utilize resources and make connections.” He believes that simply talking with, or working through a problem with the instructor or one of your peers could be enough to overcome any difficulties that may arise when learning new GIS techniques. Mr. Benoit explained that it is important to utilize and maintain these relationships during and after the courses, as they will come in handy in the professional setting as well.
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.