Congratulations to our July Undergraduate of the Month, James Ganhee Moy! James is a GIS Major, who recently earned his BS degree and is continuing on as part of our Combined BS/MS Five Year Master's Program. He has also taken full advantage of his time here, from working as a teaching asisstant to travelling to China with the GEOG Honors Program. James was also recently featured in a recent BSOS Student Spotlight. 

What are your interests within your program?

·         Exploring the potential and extent of GIS

·         Discovering how GIS applications can be used to enhance multiple disciplines (such as in research)

·         Learning the different methods and types of GIS technology

What previous jobs, internships, and volunteer experience have you had?

            Jobs:

·         Teaching Assistant for GEOG473:  Winter 2016 to Summer 2016

·         Teaching Assistant for GEOG373:  Winter 2016, Summer 2016

            Internships:

·         National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): January 2016 to Present

            Volunteer Experience:

·         Saturday school program tutor for elementary school kids

·         Annual Rockville (MD) Science Day Festival

·         Various robotics tournaments

·         Volunteer campaigner for a Board of Education Member

Where are you/have you been interning?

·         National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): January 2016 to Present

What are your internship responsibilities?

·         Creating, editing, and archiving data in a central database  (1000+ data entries)

·         Performing as a team member to accomplish given tasks

·         Utilizing ArcGIS tools to help modify a central database

What project(s) are you working on or contributing to?

·         Compiling data for areas of interest, quality checking the files, editing if necessary, and uploading the files to a central database

How is the internship experience relevant to your studies in Geographical Sciences?

·         NOAA is a federal agency which maintains and provides information pertaining the oceans and the atmosphere, topics which are highly relevant to Geographical Sciences.

·         ArcGIS is utilized, a software application package which is also used and taught in Geographical Science classes.

What are your career goals after your graduate?

·         Complete Graduate school and obtain a Master’s of Science degree in GIS

·         Achieve a position where I can make a difference

·         Acquire stable employment through the public or private sector

·         Continue exploring GIS applications, technologies, and methods

What are some of your hobbies?

·         Exploring what GIS is fully capable of, how we can utilize it to help society, and what kinds of technology and applications can we perform GIS applications

·         Videogames and computer games

·         Japanese animations

·         Playing the trumpet

Where are you from?

·         Born in Rockville, Maryland

·         Raised in Silver Spring, Maryland

·         I am Chinese-American

What has been your favorite class at UMD? Why?

·         Several favorite classes:

o   Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis

o   Honors Study Abroad in China: Undergraduate Research of the Urbanization Impacts on Development

o   Introduction to Programming for Geographers

o   Conceptualizing and Modeling Human-Environmental Interactions

o   Remote Sensing

·         There have been many classes that I have enjoyed, but one of the most enjoyable was the Honors Study Abroad in China class. Each class introduced a different perspective in how to incorporate GIS, multiple disciplines, and how it can better society.

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

·         If I could travel anywhere in the world, I would go to China again to further explore the land where my grandparents and mother came from.

We're very proud of our July Undergraduate of the Month and can't wait to see where he goes next! Congratulations James!