January 24, 2019 – Three Santa Fe College students recently participated in the 2018 Association of American Geographers, Southeastern Division (SEDAAG) conference in Johnson City, Tennessee. At the conference, geographers from 10 states shared research on environmental and scientific issues facing the planet. The role of SEDAAG is to advance investigations in geography and to encourage the application of geographic findings in education, government and business.
SF alumna and current University of Florida geography student Sarah VanSchoick received the honor of Best Undergraduate Poster for her research evaluating 20 years of data on rain rates from tropical systems affecting Madagascar and Mozambique. The research data was collected by Dr. Corene Matyas of UF’s Geography department. Sarah began her evaluation of the research while she was a student at SF as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Geoscience Engagement and Outreach (GEO) grant.
The students who participated in the conference were selected from cohorts at SF as part of the NSF GEO grant. Current SF student Malia Little presented a paper on understanding the difference in perception between satellite imagery and political maps. Her UF mentor is Dr. Katie Stofer. Raina Barnard, who also works with Dr. Corene Matyas, presented a poster on the impacts of hurricanes, particularly Hurricane Maria, on Dominica. The three-year grant is designed to encourage engagement of students from underrepresented groups in geoscience education and research.
For additional information about SF student participation in geosciences, contact Heidi Lannon at heidi.lannon@sfcollege.edu or call 352-381-7082.
For information about grants at SF, contact Kathryn Lehman at kathryn.lehman@sfcollege.edu or call 352-395-5496.