Education

8 SUPPLEMENT TO THE FREE PRESS • SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2022 EDUCATION GUIDE Callista's journey: A natural progression in training C allista Hall's love of science brought her to the Land and Water Management program at Assiniboine Community College, and her desire to learn and enhance her resumé drove her to pursue further knowl- edge and training with an ad- vanced diploma in Geograph- ics Information Systems. The Geographics Information Systems (GIS) advanced diploma program offered Hall so much more than she expected to learn, she says, and left her even more confident in her education. While attending high school in Virden, Hall says her biology teacher — who had a specializa- tion in environmental science — talked a lot about her career be- fore becoming a teacher. "I always found that very inter- esting," Hall says. "I remember at- tending a career symposium and I talked with an instructor about the Assiniboine Land and Water Management program, and that convinced me to look into the program further. I liked the idea of learning by doing and, being in Brandon, Assiniboine was close to home." In the first few days of attending the college, Hall says the program and the course load surprised her, but in a good way. "It really got right into the course load. I didn't get to choose my courses (in the program) but they were all courses I was inter- ested in, so I was excited going to each class," Hall says. "There was so much information I was learn- ing and I enjoyed the lectures, taking notes and even the assign- ments — I was enjoying learning because it was something I was interested in." James Hood, an instructor at Assiniboine who taught Hall, de- scribes her as a good student and a quick learner, with high expecta- tions of herself and others. "She's very precise with her de- tails. … She doesn't put herself in a situation where she will present incorrect information or infor- mation she hasn't reviewed. So, if Callista says something, you can be pretty sure that it's correct," Hood says. Despite COVID-19 forcing stu- dents to transition to online learning and navigate the chal- lenges that arose from that, Hall decided to stay in school for one more year, pursuing an advanced diploma with the GIS program. GIS is a technological field that incorporates geographical features with tabular data in or- der to map, analyze and assess real-world problems. It lets us visualize, question, analyze and interpret data to understand rela- tionships, patterns and trends — a system that can benefit organiza- tions in almost every industry. Hall says she really enjoyed the Introduction to GIS class offered in the Land and Water Manage- ment program and wanted to learn more. "I wanted to do one more year. I liked school and I was thinking about … a way I could enhance my resumé and make me look more desirable as an employee and stand out a little bit more," she says. "It's very relevant for the environmental industry. Now we're using so much more tech- nology along with our data collec- tion … so I thought it would be a good thing to take." Hood says he was not at all sur- prised Hall decided to further her education with the GIS program, adding he would like to see more students pursue it. "I think it's a natural progression. The Land and Water Management program gives you an introduc- tion to the issues in sustainability and environmental conservation, and although it gives you an in- troduction to GIS, when you go through the advanced GIS pro- gram, you gain so much more ex- perience," Hood says. "It's a really valuable tool that you can use in your future career. I think it's an excellent second piece to studies here at Assiniboine." The first few days in the GIS pro- gram surprised Hall, she says, as the course load was a lot heavier and fast paced. "There was just so much to learn. It was so much bigger than I thought it was going to be," she says. "There's so many different tools to use; it's more than just mapping. That's what I learned — there's data management and different ways you represent data and proper ways — even just dif- ferent ways to do it with different software, programs, servers." Steven Hills, a GIS instructor at Assiniboine, says the program is a challenging one that is technology heavy. "Students need to know their way around a computer. They need to know file management, data management, be able to ad- here to standards. They're taking five courses at once — there's a lot of juggling to do and it's a lot of work," Hills says. "If you're cu- rious, if you like technology, if you enjoy the discovery of things and seeing the bigger picture of things, GIS is a very interesting area to study or go into, just be- cause it's such a broad application base. The people who really excel in the industry are curious and aren't afraid to ask questions and find more information." Callista Hall got a job with Ma- trix Solutions, working part-time while completing her advanced diploma and stayed on following her graduation in June. "I'm happy with the education I have now," Hall says. "The way our world is going, everything is revolving around technology, so (an advanced diploma in GIS) is a great thing to have. Even if you aren't working directly in GIS, you'll still have the benefits of learning how to do proper data collection and keeping records because that is such an important part. It's very beneficial and guar- anteed you'll use it." SUPPLIED PHOTO Callista Hall ere was so much information I was learning and I enjoyed the lectures, taking notes and even the assignments." — Callista Hall ASSINIBOINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE EARN YOUR BA OR BSc Private Christian University Education Major in Aviation, Biology, Business, Health Science, Psychology, TESOL and so much more! Access Programs at the University of Manitoba have been supporting stu- dents for almost 50 years. e Access team is proud of the holistic approach taken to promote academic excellence and the success of the program can be witnessed in the 600+ graduates populating every profession serving our communities. Today, these stu- dents exemplify Manitoba's finest who enrich our communities and serve as powerful role models for students following in their footsteps. e University of Manitoba Access Program (UMAP) and the Health Careers Access Program (HCAP) are open to Manitoba residents who quali- fy for university admission. 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