What I learned from FW 419 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Going into this class I did not know what to expect. Everyone I had talked to said that it was really hard class and don’t expect good grades. They were even more perplexed to find out I had never used the software program essential for the class, ARCGIS. Further, that I had only taken one class in relation to it called intro to geographic info, and it only touched upon GIS. But I was stubborn and thought that GIS would be a great tool for me in the future.

When I arrived at the class the first day the teacher Robert Montgomery gave us a list of terms and asked us what we knew about them. I was mortified because I did not know what any of the terms were. Further, I found out that half the class was graduate level students. This was turning out to be one scary first class.

As it turned out I had a knack for GIS mostly because I have always liked computers and know that when applied with software they can be used for advanced work. The class was very intense. We woke up early on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 8:00am for lecture, and on Wednesday we had lab from 11:30 – 2:20. On top of that we had homework that needed to be completed every week.

With all of that being said it was one of my favorite classes I have ever taken. I took the class knowing it would stretch me and succeeded at it. Not only that but my teacher told me, “You were a fantastic student and I believe that you helped keep the performance of the students at a very high level”. This made me feel really good about myself and thankful for great teachers who care about their students.

But what really is GIS? I haven’t actually told you…. Well when it comes down to it you have a map. Not just a map though because with a map you can do small analysis. Maybe distance or looking to see where specific spots are, but that is it. The capabilities of GIS are much further than that. When you add data to a map you can do a whole lot. You can make a project like the one I did for my final that showed progression of Asian Carp through Lake Michigan upon entry. In this project we took Lake Michigan Basin area data to make a projection and buffer of where a non native species of carp would be if they arrived in the Lake Michigan area. Not only that but we showed what rivers would be good for spawning of the carp, and where they would flourish. We did that based off of data we put into the ARC program on habitat that the carp liked, and how far they could travel in a year. We found that they liked turbid rivers that had a large flow for spawning. We then were able to show on our GIS project that we made a highlighted section of where the carp were going to progress and what their ideal habitat was. Pretty cool stuff and that is only after a full month of research and manipulation of data!

But if you want a real definition then here is one that adequately defines GIS.

GIS is a system of hardware, software and procedures to facilitate the management, manipulation, analysis, modelling, representation and display of georeferenced data to solve complex problems regarding planning and management of resources. (NCGIA, 1990)

I was very satisfied with my work in the class and my learning of the topic. It was a new type of learning for me and that was exciting. I was able to work on a project that meant a lot to me and I showed myself that I can do anything when I put my heart to it. I hope you all find classes that you know won’t be easy but do it because you believe in yourself. That is what college is all about. Pushing ourselves to be better than we first thought, we in a way are like ARCGIS we can do so much but we just need to learn how to use our tools to do it. We need to strive always, always strive.

I learned how to dedicate myself to helping the agricultural industry and community. By working on projects that involve communicating programs to farmers, I learned how to apply my skills learned in classes at Michigan State University directly to my projects at work including writing and design. By attending different events sponsored by Michigan Farm Bureau, I was exposed to the professional side of being an employee in the organization. My experiences of attending meetings, serving as a camp counselor and even an interviewer of farmers for a DVD have given me the opportunity to expand my knowledge about the agricultural industry and community.

I am better equipped with confidence thanks to my internship at Michigan Farm Bureau. My projects have challenged me to take responsibility, to be reliable, to work as a team member and to continually strive toward the mission of the organization.

A great memory that I have with Michigan Farm Bureau that associates to my Vision Learning Statement is the opportunity that I was given to present a workshop about animal welfare to a group of high school FFA members.  It was during my preparation for the workshop that I realized that I had been granted a great opportunity to educate others about an important issue and to represent the Michigan Farm Bureau at the same time.

This was a great co-curricular experience that has taught me many valuable skills for my future career.

Taking PLS 422 my junior year was by far the craziest and best decision I’ve made while being here at State. It was insane because I took a 400 level Political Science seminar lecture that all Poly Sci majors had to take (it was challenging), but I also learned so much about how the UN and ICC work (United Nations and International Criminal Court) and the politics behind refugees. To cap off the class, we wrote our senior year Capstone paper on a topic of our choosing; I decided to focus on Southern Sudanese child refugees in Northern Uganda. Thirty-Five pages later I really questioned my sanity in choosing both that class and that paper topic, but I’ve never been so proud of work I’ve done before in my life. I got one of the best grades in the class (because I picked a topic I’m interested in and worked really hard), but more importantly learned a lot about myself, and the outside world.

Weather: sunny, little wind in the morning.  Winds picked up in the afternoon

Location: Madder Cliffs, Brown Bluff, and Anderson and Johnson Islands

Early morning…Graham woke us up at 5:40 to view tabular icebergs.  There are many different kinds of icebergs, which include blocky and others.  By 7:00 am we were all bundled up.  The Ocean Nova’s captain decided to show off the power of the boat by driving it right onto the sea ice at Madder Cliffs.  I was impressed that the ice could handle the weight of the ship.  According to Alex, the sea ice was supposed to have broken up already.

We were really fortunate to walk on it.  From the ice walk, we gathered onto the zodiacs for a closer examination of the Adelie penguins.  Alex was our driver.  He took us to the rookery of the penguins.  Thousands of them covered the mountain.  While manipulating through the ice pieces, a leopard seal suddenly appeared, and it was swimming in the water!!  I wonder how long the seal can stay underwater?  We also asked Alex about the social aspects of seals.  Elephant and Weddell seals usually can be seen in groups because they are mostly social animals.  However, the leopard seal is a mostly solitary animal.  They are absolutely huge, with large amounts of blubber to keep warm.

I learned something more about the Adelie penguins today.  Apparently, opening their wings and lifting them up is a sign of defense.  They will then run at you if you don’t back away.  Adelie penguins are the most aggressive of the penguins, even though they are small.  Perhaps that is a behavioral adaptation?  This happened as we were disembarking from our zodiacs.  One penguin got separated from the other two, so they charged to try to get us to move- eventually he got back to the other penguins.

After breakfast Jake, Brian, Jess, and I went out to the stern to photograph seals, penguins, and icebergs.  The icebergs are huge and tabular, probably having slid off the ice shelf many years ago.  We saw a few more Adelie penguins as well (on the zodiac it was awesome to see them hunting and porpoising.)  James says we most likely saw crabeater seals, due to their light color. We saw about 6 crabeater seals. AWESOME!!  Crabeater seals are one of the most abundant seals in Antarctica.

We also landed at Brown Bluff.  It is a rock formation that was created by a volcano eruption mixing with ice.  It is truly incredible.  Phil led us on a hike up an active glacier.  It was a very warm day, so I didn’t even wear my parka.  I actually had to roll up the sleeves of my fleece.  We had to jump over crevasses and walk carefully up the glacier.  The view from the top was awesome.  I could look out over the water and see everything- including a nasty looking cloud that only proves how quickly the weather can change in Antarctica.  The weather did not touch us, but it was really cool to see.

Many icebergs have a brilliant blue color to them.  James, the geologist, says that they are that color is either due to incredibly compressed ice with little air, allowing more light penetration.  An alternative is there are many cracks in the ice that allow light penetration.

We took a zodiac tour at 6 pm of many icebergs between Anderson and Johnson Islands.  We saw a basalt rock formation with penguins and gulls.  Great ride with beautiful shots.  I really enjoyed riding with James because he was so knowledgeable about all of the lava formations and icebergs; he could answer all of my questions, and he added cool bits of information.

On the way back we saw a crabeater seal.  We got very close and upon inspection saw that it had been recently injured.  The injuries were probably sustained from a leopard seal or a whale.  James says that it has a good chance of survival.  After leaving the seal we raced back to the ship- we lost…

Since we both had ANR 210 last spring, we talked about life post-210. I learned that she had switched her major to Parks and Rec and Environmental Studies. She displayed her dreams of being a red-headed woman version of Ranger Rick. Teaching children and adults alike about the forest (which would no doubt be a national forest in a distant land) and going about daily park ranger types of activities, such as epically catching poachers and carting them off to jail in a paddy wagon, or making friends with the local ornithological, marsupial, and general mammalian community, whom are much like the Bailey community, except furrier and featherier.

Then we talked about rugby and what it takes to run the rugby team, like the proper way to tackle another woman so as to make her fall and possibly become winded, and fundraising so your team can travel to different tournements and pay for refs. It was also determined that if I were to join the rugby team, I would most likley be snapped in half and eaten faster than a kit kat bar in a room full of teenage girls at a slumber party.

These were tyhe overwhelming and most interesting topics we discussed. Since this blurb is already particularly long, I shall shorten the rest: Katie bought a house, awesome, i like hiking, teaching children is important in a way we don’t believe the majority of our government quite understands.

All in all, coffee was sipped, interesting conversation was made, and the class was went to. It was a good opportunity to get to know another scholar, and I highly endorse it for anyone who hasn’t taken the opportunity yet to go out for a coffee talk.

1). Kiana is an amazing person inside and out and there is NO WAY that you cannot be her friend! If you have not met her- MEET HER. NOW.

2). She has a beautiful heart. I love her connection to MSU SAID and how she is helping them raise money to immunize children in Coimbatore, India! YES! She loves my people J

3). Kiana is a Ambassador for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR)!! Go Kiana!

4). She has been apart of Bailey right between freshmen and sophomore year and has been very active since!

5). Kiana applied to several universities in high school, including a couple in Ohio (boo) J But, MSU was her #1 pick and she truly is a Spartan for life!

6). She is majoring in Agriculture and Natural Resources Communications J Mouth full! She is a perfect fit for this major for sure!

7). Kiana is a great listener and I love how she gets to the point! (Unlike me lol)

8). Kiana stated that Bailey was the best thing that has ever happened to her and I am sure the Bailey Community can say the same J

9). I love Kiana’s humor! We connect in that way because, we understand each other’s silliness and craziness!

10). I would like to learn more about Kiana, but I did learn that an hour can really make a difference for getting to know someone and really learning so much and making a connection! Kiana! You Rock Girl! J

P.S. I can’t wait to read Three Cups of Tea (I think that’s the title ) and meet Dan D.! (that rhymes- yes!)

1. She is awesome!!! Seriously, have coffee with her if you don’t believe me and see for yourself.
2. Today (April 12, 2010) is her 21^st birthday and she spent an hour of her special day with me!
3. She is from just outside Flint but she’s still from Flint.
4. She is a FIM student(Food Industry Management for those non CANR folks)
5. She was born in Kuwait and her parents were born in India.
6. We both knew that we were born to be Spartans before we got here (MSU)
7. She values diversity. Which makes sense; she is a cultural aid in Holden.
8. We are both daddy’s girls!
9. We both are choosing careers that are different than our families. For her business and for me community development.
10. We both love Bailey and are excited about what the program has to offer

Pat Crawford Resume_Part2

Pat Crawford Resume_Part3