Geography Faculty and Alumni. Left to right: Profs William Meyer, Maddy Hamlin, and Peter Klepeis; Jenna Lilly ’17, Robyn E. Emeson, Esq. ’03, and Jasmin Lopez ’22; Profs Emily Mitchell-Eaton and Adam Burnett
Want to learn more about what to do with a degree in Geography?
Three alumni returned for a lunchtime event to speak to faculty and staff about what they do, how they use geography in their everyday lives, and how they found their careers.
Jasmin Lopez ’22 works for the City of Syracuse as a data and mapping analyst in Neighborhood and Business Development, Jenna Lilly ’17 is lab coordinator for Shoals Marine Lab and a marine technician for Sea Education Association, and Robyn E. Emeson (nee Hanson), Esq. ’03 (attending remotely) is an environmental attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Alumni talked about their journey to their current professions and how often the journey they traveled was somewhat different than what they had initially imagined. For example, Lopez had thought to return home to Phoenix following graduation — ending up in Syracuse was a good opportunity and a big surprise. Lilly moved from seasonal job to seasonal job but found education, skill-building, and companionship within her unconventional hours; and Emeson went from law school to a high-intensity job with the U.S. Department of Justice to a position that allowed for more personal and family time with the EPA.
While all the alumni appreciated the broad education Colgate gave them, they noted geography's multidisciplinary ethos in particular. Courses that covered environmental law cases, GIS, and lab work were all singled out as elements that were helpful in their real-life jobs.
Out of the advice the alumni had for current students the main points were: to reach for opportunities and not to limit oneself with simple definitions of what a job might include, to take chances and go meet people, apply widely, and not be afraid if a job might appear just out of reach — and to network, network, network.
The geography department appreciates all the effort these alumni made to create an event that gave students a great deal of food for thought, as well as pizza.