On April 1, 2014 the Eastern Great Lakes Region (EGLR) of ASPRS appointed Steven Ostrowski, a graduate student at The Ohio State University (OSU), as Chairperson for the EGLR Student Advisory Council. The EGLR SAC is also the first of its kind and will serve as a bridge between regional and national student affairs. “As Chairperson, Steven will be the liaison between the EGLR SAC and ASPRS SAC... and to represent all students within EGLR who are current ASPRS Student members or hold an interest in joining ASPRS” (-EGLR Past President Jim Peters, Great Lakes Beacon 2014).
Steven Ostrowski holds a BS in Civil Engineering from OSU and will begin his second year of his MS in Geodetic Engineering, also at The Ohio State University. Last March 2013, Steven won 2nd Place at the OSU Engineering and Architecture Undergraduate Research Forum, with a poster presentation on “Mapping of the Mars Exploration Rovers Opportunity and Spirit, Analyzing Orthophotos and Stereoscopic, Panoramic Imaging”.
Steven works as a graduate research assistant on many exciting projects including the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) and ExoMars with Dr. Rongxing Li (ASPRS Fellow), and UAV/UAS projections with Dr. Charles Toth (ASPRS Vice President). He is enthusiastic about this new opportunity from ASPRS and looks forward to more student involvement from his region.
Saturday, 12 April 2014
Congratulations to Steven Ostrowski, the first student liaison to an ASPRS Regional Board
Friday, 11 April 2014
$100K in Scholarship Funding from USGIF Deadline to apply: April 25, 2014
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) is excited to announce the opening of our 2014 Scholarship Program. USGIF is dedicated to assisting promising students interested in geospatial sciences with scholarship awards to further the advancement of the geospatial intelligence tradecraft.
With your help, we can make our 2014 Program the most successful yet. Please pass along this information to your contacts and/or students and download our 2014 Scholarship Program flyer.
- Students studying geospatial intelligence or any related field are encouraged to submit their applications by the April 25, 2014 deadline.
- Graduating high school seniors, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students can download applications at http://usgif.org/education/scholarships.
- Scholarship recipients are chosen based on their academic and professional excellence in a field related to the geospatial intelligence tradecraft.
Students studying in fields such as geography, political science, physics, computer science, engineering, biology, anthropology, sociology or any field in the natural and social sciences are encouraged to apply. Through the USGIF Scholarship Program, the Foundation strives to communicate to students the breadth and power of GEOINT in serving national, global and human security interests.
The USGIF Scholarship Program endeavors to support students with innovative ideas for problem-solving with Geospatial Science and Technology. Please share information about this scholarship program with your students.
For more information on the USGIF Scholarship Program or to download applications, please visit: http://usgif.org/education/scholarships
Deadline to apply: April 25, 2014
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
R. Maxwell Baber, Ph.D., FBCart.S
Director of Academic Programs
United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation "
** Special thanks to Sokhan Hing, ASPRS Membership Manager
** Special thanks to Dr. Maxwell Baber, Director of Academic Programs USGIF
The Student Advisory Council thanks our SEMG Panelists for their participation in the Spring 2014 Student-Employer Meet & Greet
The Student Advisory Council (SAC) thanks our SEMG Panelists for taking the time to address our student members and represent their companies at the ASPRS 2014 Student-Employer Meet & Greet!
We ask and encourage all students to prioritize attending ASPRS conferences because through these events, you can really see the value of your student membership! At each conference you will find student-focused events coordinated by the SAC designed for you to introduce yourself to these industry leaders who have candid and thoughtful guidance for you at this stage of your career!
The geospatial community wants to get to know you.
Here are just some of the recommendations from this year’s panel of SEMG participants:
Jim Green, Regional Sales Manager
OPTECH | VAUGHAN, ONTARIO
“We are looking for people who are keen and eager--are keen to wake up in the morning and have the solutions rolling before they get to the office. Most of my hires are people who sit at a table--like I am right now--leaning forward into the conversation, not sitting back waiting for someone to ask a question. I'm waiting for people to tell me about my company and what they know about it. Because that tells me that's where they want to be.”
Elaine van Ommen Kloeke, Publisher
ELSEVIER PRESS | UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS
“Be careful with your CV--that's the best advice I got when I was making that transition--most of us tend to write the CV for scientists, so we talk about our education, our publications. But many companies are looking for something else, they want your competencies: what are you good at? Did you organize a workshop? Did you organize a conference? Can you show that you are good at networking? Those sorts of things you do not want to leave off of your CV. Make sure you show the other side of yourself.”
Eric Cole, Operations Manager
WOOLPERT | ATLANTA, GA
“Make sure you know the position you're applying for. When I look at a resume and I don't see things that don't apply specifically to the position that I'm hiring for, I go to the next resume. There has to be something there that makes me want to talk to you. That's the importance of a resume: it makes me want to talk to you. If we don't get past that, then there's no real opportunity. If you have something to offer me that I'm looking for, then you sell yourself on the project or position at that point.”
Gerry Kinn, Senior Imagery Specialist
ESRI | VIENNA, VA
“You as a prospective job hunter need to remember that you're hunting. And when you hunt, you have to approach the target, right? So make sure if you think you want to work for a company that you get in front of them, you talk to them, and they get to know you as a person. Because at the end of the day, we don't hire resumes. We hire people. If we know you the person, your chances skyrocket. And if you get an internship--no matter if it's paid, unpaid, anything--make sure you show initiative. That is the best way to get a job. We hire about half our interns for full-time positions. The ones we hire are the ones that showed initiative.”
Mike Rosen, Software Architect
LIZARDTECH | SEATTLE, WA
“Frankly, almost all entry level resumes look the same; if you've got something that you can say that stands out—that's what I'm looking for. Talk to me about something that you're passionate about: did you work on an open-source project? I totally want to hear about it. If you've got a project that you took initiative on and pushed for—that's the kind of thing that makes you stand out. If you show up here, plus one. It's something that distinguishes you from the 'great unwashed masses'. Initiative and the way you present yourself as a person that cares about what they're doing is huge.”
Darrick Wagg, Support Services Manager
GEOCUE CORPORATION | HUNTSVILLE, AL
“We do try to look to make sure our new hires have had some sort of exposure and some sort of experience. Have you done some volunteer work? Have you done some summer employment? Have you done some sort of internship? All those things help to elevate you above the people that have the same GPA and the same degree. It does help to pull you out of the crowd.”
Omer Mian, Product Manager
APPLANIX | TORONTO, ONTARIO
“When we are hiring at the entry level, one rule that we have is that if you have no experience, your resume needs to be one page. We do not need to see two or three pages that tell us that you have no work experience. But your cover letter is very important; if I read a cover letter and am dissatisfied, I will likely not bother with the resume. Make sure also that if you are applying for a job, your resume matches your LinkedIn profile.”
Jillian Obermeier, Recruiter
NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY [NGA] |
“I'm the person that stands between you and these guys. I'm that middle man that reads thousands of resumes. When we read your resumes we want to see 'specific examples and associated results.' Just having the skill and being able to include that one bullet point might enable you to meet the qualification but it doesn't tell me how well you can do it and how much experience you have. And a cover letter is not optional; it's never optional.”
Carrie Jucht, Project Coordinator
STINGER GHAFFARIAN TECHNOLOGIES [SGT FOR USGS/EROS] |
“It's not about your 4.0, although that looks good; it's about your extra-curriculars as well. It means that you are willing to get yourself involved, and in leadership positions as well. And remember the key words of the position description you're applying for. Are you a communicator? Are you willing to do these job requirements? Use the key words from that position description in your resume and cover letter.”
Rodrigo "Sal" Nobrega, Professor
FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF MINAS GERAIS | BELO HORIZONTE, MG
“There are a lot of proposals going on right now in Brazil, not only in academia, but in government agencies, like in agriculture, and they are hiring, especially post-docs. We do not have many post-docs in Brazil, and the country is growing economically, so I am very supportive of the idea of encouraging students to find something online and apply. And depending on the field you are focusing on, the salary is very good.”
NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY [PART OF NOAA] | COLUMBUS, OH
“NGS employs about 200 people, and about 10-15% of our positions are vacant because of a hiring freeze. So when federal funding levels improve, we have pent-up demand. Make sure to set up automatic alerts for job advertisements through the USAJOBS website. Typically, our vacancies are only posted for a brief window, like a week. So you really need that notice to tell you a job is available to get your application together before the posting period closes.”
Ryan Bowe, GIS Technician and ASPRS YPC Mentoring Coordinator
QUANTUM SPATIAL | LEXINGTON, KY
“We have all been in the same position as you are right now and some of us even have offspring searching for jobs. Continue to do what you are doing and show us you are interested and eager by showing up at conferences and take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. One of those opportunities is definitely the mentoring program. So please sign up and I will try to pair you with a mentor as soon as possible!”
Please contact Ryan Bowe for more information regarding the ASPRS Mentoring Program!
We look forward to seeing you at the next ASPRS conference, and continue to follow our LinkedIn group for more updates for you, our student members!
