Resources for Geography Students

Upper-level students majoring in Geography who make themselves available to talk with other students who are considering the concentration and want to learn more about the student experience.

Tucker McPartlin ’27

Hometown: Concord, New Hampshire

Major: Geography and Political Science Double Major

What do you like about being a Geography/Environmental Geography major at Colgate? 
What I like most about being a geography major at Colgate is how interdisciplinary it is. I am able to pursue interests in economics, sociology, and environmental science all within the same major.

What are your future plans? 
After this year I would like to work in economic development, government, or lobbying. 

Luke Wang '27

Hometown: Beijing, China

Majors: Environmental Geography & International Relations

Interests in Geography: Geopolitics, Transportation, GIS

What do you like about being a Geography/Environmental Geography major at Colgate? 
The geography department at Colgate is a very tight-knit and closely bonded community! The professors are always willing to help out students! Furthermore, there are a lot of classes that can be taken at the department that can enhance your skills from multiple perspectives: from aspects of the human world to technologies to fields in natural sciences.

What are your future plans?
Not sure yet, possibly continuing advanced studies in the field of Geography.

Kate Christensen ’28

Hometown: Manhattan Beach, California

Major: Environmental Geography and Creative Writing Double Major

What do you like about being a Geography/Environmental Geography major at Colgate?  
The geography department is a wonderfully tight knit community that allows you to truly get to know everyone. I feel supported not only by the professors but by my peers as well, and I know that if I ever need advice I can turn to the geography department.

What are your future plans? 
I plan to eventually get my PHD in a Geography or Environmental Studies-related field!

Victoria Eastment '28

Hometown: Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

Major: Environmental Geography and Chemistry Double Major

What do you like about being a Geography/Environmental Geography major at Colgate? 
Something I really like about being an Environmental Geography major at Colgate is how welcoming and supportive the department is as a whole. I love being able to explore environmental issues through such a multidisciplinary lens to gain a more nuanced understanding of the natural world.

What are your future plans?
In the future, I hope to go into environmental law and use my science background to implement effective global policies.

The Office of the Registrar manages important academic records, information, and paperwork. See the registrar for the following needs:

• Course registration
• Major/minor declaration
• Transcript requests
• Official academic calendar

Interested in improving your study habits? Want to talk through a paper or oral presentation with someone? Utilize these on-campus academic support options:

• Academic Support and Disability Services (covering everything from tutoring to classroom accessibility)
• Writing and Speaking Center

The Upstate Institute links Colgate with the surrounding region through scholarly collaboration. Geography students frequently conduct research to further their academic training while simultaneously benefiting the broader community beyond campus. Learn more about the Upstate Institute.

Whether you're planning to attend graduate school after commencement or launch your career, check in with Career Services for advice and insight.

Internships

• Colgate Handshake — job and internship postings
• NASA Develop
• National Council for Science and the Environment
• Esri
• National Geographic Society
• Upstate Institute Summer Field School
• Washington, D.C., Internship Institute
• D.C. Internships

Job Search Resources

• Colgate Handshake — job and internship postings
• Association of American Geographers (AAG)
• Earthworks — Jobs in oil, mining, geoscience, environmental, agriculture, forestry, ecology, meteorology, oceanography, hydrology, soil, GIS, and more.
• Student Conservation Association
• Tips for Finding GIS Jobs
• GIS Jobs Clearinghouse
• GIS Jobs
• GIS Café
• mygisjobs

Name: Angelica Greco ’18

Current job title:  Resilience Program Manager [organization is ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA)]

What you've been up to since graduation: Post-graduation, I spent a year working in various temporary positions focused on science communications and advocacy, including at Public Citizen and the American Geophysical Union. After that, I decided I wanted to continue my education in some way—either by going back to school for my master's, or through a fellowship abroad. I ended up working with Colgate's Office of Fellowships and Scholarships to apply for several opportunities, one of which worked out: In 2019, I won a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship, which supports international students in master's programs in Germany. In 2022, I earned my master's in the Geography of Environmental Risk and Human Security from the University of Bonn. I started working as an intern at my current organization—ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability—as a master's student.

How your Colgate Geography education helps you in your current role: I work with local governments on initiatives that help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change. In some ways, my current role feels like a continuation of conversations I first had as a Colgate Geography student. For example, many of my projects are grounded in the "uniqueness of place"—i.e., understanding how the physical landscape and historical dynamics shape where people live today. 

A favorite memory from Colgate Geography: Nothing compares to the moment when I submitted my geography thesis—5 minutes before the deadline, of course. One of my advisors, Professor Meyer, responded, "Who says you aren't punctual?" Here's another: My favorite memory is a "field trip" that Professor Klepeis's Geography of Happiness class took. We strapped on snowshoes and hiked up the hill to appreciate Colgate's natural beauty after a winter snowstorm. 

Name: Brent Krasner '00

Current job title: Branch Chief, Department of Planning and Development, County of Fairfax, VA

What you've been up to since graduation: After graduating from Colgate in the Spring of 2000, I enrolled in the Master of City Planning Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Having always been interested in planning at the local level, I’ve focused my career on helping municipalities, both large and small, confront their planning challenges. The first half of my career was spent in New York and New Jersey where I worked for the City of New York and then as a planning consultant with an architectural firm in New Jersey. In both positions, I focused on both long-range comprehensive planning and development review. For the last 15 years, I’ve worked for the largest jurisdiction in the Washington, DC metro area supervising a team of planners responsible for zoning amendments and the review of a wide range development proposals.

How your Colgate Geography education helps you in your current role: The placed-based lens and analytical skills I developed while at Colgate provided me with a solid foundation to succeed as an urban planner. Planners need to think holistically and balance seemingly disparate and competing social, economic, and physical priorities in their communities- from assessing water quality and climate impacts of new development to providing a sufficient supply of well-designed and affordable housing units that will keep up with market demand. The courses in the Geography Department covered all these issues and importantly taught me how to synthesize and distill complex technical information into persuasive arguments. In addition, the training I received in the use of GIS at Colgate provided a critical foundation that I continue to use as a planner today while the technology and advent of AI continue to transform how we analyze the world spatially.

A favorite memory from Colgate Geography: I have many fond memories of my time spent in the basement of Persson Hall and the GIS lab where we were using Arcview 3.1 which was pretty sophisticated for the late ‘90’s. I especially remember taking Weather and Climate with Professor Burnett, Demography with Professor Emerita Kraly, and of my senior thesis project, which focused on urban revitalization and was supervised by Professor Emeritus Bob Elgie

Name: Ella Cook ’25

Current Job Title: Clinical Research Coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)

What you've been up to since graduation: After graduation in May, I moved to Boston and began working in the Interventional Cardiology department at MGH! In my role, I manage seven different clinical trials that evaluate investigational medical device treatments (i.e. heart valves or stents) for structural heart disease. My day-to-day includes seeing patients in clinic, procedures in the OR, meetings with biotech companies, and more! I'm currently deciding if I want to go to law or PA school following this role.

How your Colgate Geography education helps you in your current role: A big part of my job is screening patients for these novel treatments, which means considering factors such as access to specialty cardiac care, barriers like transportation or insurance, and how disease prevalence varies across neighborhoods and demographics. Studying geography helped me understand spatial inequality to improve screening strategies, recognize bias in trial populations, and think critically about the how generalizable our findings truly are.

A favorite memory from Colgate Geography: One of my favorite memories from Colgate Geography was taking “GIS and Society” with Professor Hamlin. I thought it was really interesting to see all the ways geospatial data and technologies shape the world around us. We had many great discussions and also read part of The Map in the Machine by Luis Alvarez León, which I love and have re-read since graduating.

Name: Jesse Swann-Quinn ’07

Current job title:  Associate Professor of the Practice & Associate Director, Environmental Studies Program, Boston College

What you've been up to since graduation:  I teach in the Environmental Studies Program at Boston College, an interdisciplinary major that draws together natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities with the goal of empowering students to be agents of change for a more sustainable society. After graduating from Colgate I spent five years producing natural history series for National Geographic Television. I received an MA in Geography from the University of Arizona (2013), a PhD in Geography from Syracuse University (2019), and taught in the Environmental Science and Sustainability department at Allegheny College from 2020-2024. My scholarship and teaching broadly focus on spatial politics of the environment with a focus on the former Soviet Union, environmental media and storytelling, and exploring sustainability through both local and transnational networks. In addition to supporting student research projects, my current work explores the politics of expanding green energy infrastructure in post-conflict Nagorno-Karabakh.

How your Colgate Geography education helps you in your current role: Colgate Geography taught me the power of seeing the world through a geographic lens, while also preparing me to think critically and across disciplinary boundaries as a teacher and scholar. More importantly though, Colgate Geography helped me understand the impact a caring, supportive, and rigorous educational community can have in transforming lives, and set the bar for what an academic program can and should be!

A favorite memory from Colgate Geography:  There are too many to list, but highlights include studying abroad in Wollongong, classes in Persson Hall with all the incredible faculty, and working late with friends in the GIS lab!

Name: Jane Zugarek ’22

Current job title: Program Manager, Umbra Labs, Inc.

What you've been up to since graduation:  After graduating in 2022, I joined NASA DEVELOP (aftering learning about the program from a Colgate alum) where I utilized and gained skills in GIS, geospatial data science, and remote sensing applications. Initially, I was working as a participant to test how various remote sensing datasets could help inform stakeholders' application of these data, e.g. if MODIS Aqua can help the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution track harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Maine. I appreciated learning about the vast world of remote sensing and transitioned into proposing projects and managing DEVELOP teams at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I was able to grow my network and learn more about the engineering behind certain satellite systems from mentors. Since leaving JPL in 2025, I have been working for a commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite company, Umbra Labs, Inc., where I've had the opportunity to learn a lot about SAR data, support business development, and work closely with NASA and other customers who use our data for science and civil applications.

How your Colgate Geography education helps you in your current role: My Colgate Geography education continues to shape how I approach my work by giving me both a strong geospatial and interdisciplinary perspective as well as an appreciation for how geographic tools can support real-world decision-making. Through Geography coursework and field-based learning, I gained a foundation of geography sub-disciplines that has been particularly valuable in my work with GIS and remote sensing data. That background helped me move from the academic setting into various applied geospatial projects at NASA DEVELOP and now Umbra, where I support the use of SAR data for science and civil applications. Just as importantly, the Geography Department always encouraged curiosity and interdisciplinary thinking, which are skills that continue to guide me in my current role where I regularly interface with engineering, business development, and science teams.

A favorite memory from Colgate Geography: An extended study research trip to Russia with the Colgate Geography Department is my favorite memory and a pivotal experience in my collegiate and ultimately professional career. I took a leap to attend the trip, not knowing others in the group as a freshman, and declared a Geography major once back on campus the following fall because of the exposure I gained to field research in both human and physical geography thanks to the supportive Geography Department faculty.

Name: Sophie Schadler ’23

Current Job Title: Research Associate at Synapse Energy Economics

What you've been up to since graduation:After graduating, I moved back to the Boston area and started working at a cafe for a bit while applying to other jobs. Later that Fall, I began working in my current position at Synapse, a small environmental consulting firm in Cambridge, MA. I have gained invaluable experience at Synapse learning about the world of utility regulation and the challenges that states face in decarbonizing their electric and gas systems in an affordable way. 

How your Colgate Geography education helps you in your current role:The most valuable thing I learned as a Geography student was how to observe the many complex factors that feed into every topic or issue and understand the big picture. Geography also gave me a passion for environmental and equity issues and a desire to pursue these in my career.

A favorite memory from Colgate Geography:  My favorite memory from Geography was the GIS summer internship I did my Junior year, working long hours in the lab and flying drones with Professor Loranty.

Name: Keegan Kessler ’23

Current title: Graduate Student in Geography at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

What you've been up to since graduation: Following graduation, I took a gap year in Portland, Oregon where I managed a project with NASA DEVELOP. We examined community-level urban heat island effect using remote sensing data from an environmental justice perspective. Then, I returned to Hawai'i in 2024 to pursue a Master's in Geography at the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa. I am currently finishing my thesis research regarding Indigenous/Kānaka 'Ōiwi perspectives on the redevelopment of the Coco Palms Resort in my hometown of Wailua, Kaua'i. I will be presenting this work at the 2026 AAG, sharing mo'olelo (stories) of resilience from my community. I hope to continue my studies at the PhD level, emphasizing community-centered and decolonial research practices.

How your Colgate Geography education helps you in your current role: My education with Colgate Geography greatly prepared me for my work and provided a stepping stone in fulfilling my aspirations. Coming from Kaua'i, Colgate Geography opened me to so many new perspectives and opportunities that have allowed me to grow personally and academically. My advisor, Professor Daisaku Yamamoto, supported my first publication as a book chapter that came out of my Colgate Geography honors thesis. Then, I recently published my first journal article that was born out of research for Professor Emily Mitchell-Eaton's Senior Seminar course. I always dreamed of returning 'ike (knowledge) to my community, and Colgate Geography helped me achieve that.

A favorite memory from Colgate Geography: I have many fond memories of Colgate Geography. From the amazing courses to fun spring BBQs with faculty and friends, Colgate Geography became a nexus of people and places where we could share our experiences. I often reminisce about my last semester, staying in Case Library until closing to write my thesis with Sophia Ferrero, a fellow Geography alum. At the time, it was very challenging work. But as I look back on it now, I am grateful for the support and confidence that Colgate Geography had in us. It was in those moments where we truly built camaraderie and felt like our years with Colgate Geography were building into something greater.

Name: Salvatore Curasi ’15

Current job title: Research Scientist at the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis.

What you've been up to since graduation:  My research focuses on wildfire, the high-latitude carbon cycle, and the development of the Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM), which provides critical input to the IPCC Assessment Reports. Before this, I completed my Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Notre Dame, where I combined extensive modelling with fieldwork in Russian and Alaskan tundra ecosystems. My graduate studies were supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and a Fulbright Fellowship to Yakutsk in Siberia.

How your Colgate Geography education helps you in your current role: My geography coursework at Colgate University provided a vital foundation in the Earth’s climate system and quantitative GIS skills. The bridge from the spatial concepts you learn in an intro GIS course and things you’ll find at the core of complex earth system models is shorter than one might think. 

A favorite memory from Colgate Geography:  Some of my favorite geography courses at Colgate got us out of the classroom and into the field. Mike Loranty’s ecohydrology class and Peter Scull’s soils course were particularly memorable.

Name: Ana Tobio ’18 

Current job title: I am currently an associate vegetation ecologist at the California Native Plant Society

What you've been up to since graduation:  After graduation, I dabbled in various fields that fall under the environmental sciences umbrella, including water policy and regulation, environmental education, land management, and plant ecology. I found my strongest passion in forest ecology, resulting in me spending a couple of years involved in federal forest monitoring projects across California and simultaneously completing an online MS in environmental science where I conducted independent research on forest recruitment dynamics in California's eastern Sierra. I now work as a vegetation ecologist where I coordinate vegetation surveying projects, analyze vegetation datasets, develop vegetation classification systems, and determine range extents and rarity ranks for vegetation communities in California. All the while, I've spent a lot of time sampling some of the best rock climbing, mountain hiking, and botanizing across the North American west, continuing to settle in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. 

How your Colgate Geography education helps you in your current role: My undergraduate research with Dr. Loranty in arctic plant ecology sparked my curiosity in this field, developed my data analysis skills, encouraged me to pursue higher education, and taught me how to ask and try to answer questions on ecosystem composition and function. Additionally, I use ESRI products daily in my work, from conducting geospatial assessments of vegetation communities with ArcPro to developing tools that ensure smooth data collection and quality control with Survey123 and Experience Builder. While this work is a step up from the ArcMap I learned at Colgate, the Geography Department still provided me with foundational knowledge needed to complete this work.

A favorite memory from Colgate Geography:  Despite all the adventures I've gone on since graduating from Colgate, field work in northeastern Siberia with Dr. Loranty and his colleagues continues to be the wildest and most exciting experience I've had. Additionally, the lessons I learned in the "Geography of Happiness," which at the time was a new 400-level course offered by Dr. Klepeis, follow me and guide my life choices. 

Name: Alex Pustelnyk ’17

Current job title: Director, Organizational Performance and Change at NeighborWorks America

What you've been up to since graduation:  After receiving a master’s degree in geography from Syracuse University in 2019, I worked as a housing planner at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, where I led development of the state’s low-income housing plan. During COVID, I helped design and manage Texas’ Housing Stability Services program, a new $200 million emergency initiative that kept more than 88,000 low-income households safely housed. Today, I work at NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit in Washington, DC. I analyze housing trends, help shape national strategies, and write federal reports to support nearly 250 local community organizations serving 500,000 low-income residents and generating over $11 billion in community investment each year. 

How your Colgate Geography education helps you in your current role: Colgate Geography taught me to ask the “why of where.” Why do communities face different challenges in different places? Where can limited resources have the greatest impact? Geography trains you to think across scales - from neighborhoods to national policy - and to question whether the data we rely on tells the whole story. A geographic perspective is essential in strategic planning, where effective decision-making requires listening to and understanding the needs of people in different places at different times.

A favorite memory from Colgate Geography:  I will always remember how one professor asked me to review their book manuscript. My feedback was hardly revelatory or insightful, but they thought to include me in the acknowledgements anyway.  Another professor advised my summer research work and credited some of my research photographs in their new textbook. The geography faculty took their roles as mentors seriously and always did everything they could to help me succeed.