From Warehouses to GIS: One Woman's Decade-Long Path to Environmental Data Analytics

After graduating high school in 2013 with no clear direction, the author spent years cycling through more than a dozen unrelated jobs before finding a passion in environmental science and data. A turning point came in 2022 when, at age 26 and motivated by years of self-directed reading on climate change and ecology, she enrolled at Potomac State Community College to earn an Associate of Arts in Wildlife and Fisheries. She later transferred to Frostburg State University, where she shifted her major to Environmental Science after finding traditional biology coursework too theoretical and memorization-heavy. Along the way, she co-founded a tree care business, volunteered with a spruce restoration initiative, and worked as a math tutor, all of which built practical and analytical skills. Her journey ultimately led her toward GIS and environmental data analytics as a career path that merged her longstanding interests with technical expertise.