UW Geomatics Entrance Scholarship winner gains experience with Esri software

Find out about Luke Zettel, one of this year’s Esri Canada Geomatics Entrance Scholarship winners at the University of Waterloo.

Esri Canada has a number of programs and initiatives to support the use of GIS in teaching and learning at all levels of education. One of these is the Geomatics Entrance Scholarship at the University of Waterloo. Winners receive funding as well as a one-year subscription to the Esri Developer Network including an ArcGIS Desktop license.

Like many students in their final years of high school, Luke Zettel, one of the 2016 entrance scholarship winners, was unsure what he wanted to study at university. It was during an information session at the University of Waterloo that he learned about the Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Geomatics program. He had considered a Math/Business Administration Double Degree, as he loves math and computer science. The Geomatics program offered him the opportunity to study these as well as geography.

Luke explains, “I was thrilled at what the program had to offer me. Since beginning my studies in the Geomatics program, I am very proud and happy of my decision. In the first couple months of studies at the University of Waterloo I've used ArcMap to create and analyze various maps for class assignments. It's a great tool to process and display information in very simple, yet useful ways.”

For one of Luke’s assignments, he used symbol size to illustrate the range in price of coffee available on the University of Waterloo campus.

Luke plans to use the software he received with the scholarship to deepen his knowledge of cartography and further develop his skills. He said, “I’m excited for what the future holds for me. As graduation is still a number of years away, I am not 100% certain of what I would like to do after completing my undergraduate degree. I do, however, know that as I thoroughly enjoy processing information and making user-friendly maps, I am really hoping I can pursue a career which allows me to collect data first-hand, process it and share it for the benefit of other people.”

Congratulations to Luke, and best wishes in his studies and his future career!