Name: Samuel
Krueger
Major &
Minor: Environmental Geography
UWEC Standing and
Expected Graduation Date: Senior: December 2012
Interests and
Hobbies: Unnecessarily competitive yard game tournaments, UWEC
intramurals, the Packers, ice fishing, cartography, being active with friends.
Internship
Employer: City of Janesville, WI –
Community Development Department
Length of
Employment: Summer 2012
Basics : Was your
internship paid or unpaid? Did you register for credits? Why or Why not? Did
you create the internship or was it advertised? Where did you hear about it? The
GIS Analyst summer internship in Janesville was a paid internship. I did not
register for any credits; however, I did not consider the opportunity,
something I would advise future students to definitely take advantage of. The
position was advertised through Professor Hupy’s internship email list. I am
originally from Oregon WI; 25 minutes north of Janesville so applying for this
summer internship was a no brainer for me.
What were your
specific job responsibilities?
I
was hired at an interesting time in the community development department at
City Hall. Surprisingly, the GIS department was extremely small, comprised of
just a GIS Coordinator and one GIS Analyst. The former GIS Analyst took another
job which allowed me to step in as the temporary number two GIS person. This
transition proved to be extremely
beneficial as I was able to get my hands on a variety of GIS related projects.
I
spent the majority of my time analyzing areas within the Janesville
Municipality that were in the greatest need for sidewalk
construction. A large portion of the city as well as
many surrounding neighborhoods were not equipped with sidewalks, most
did not even have plans for future sidewalk construction. A community
sidewalk committee had been formed by city council after the 7 year project to
build 63 miles of sidewalk had come to a halt. The program was disbanded
and restructured due to large community skepticism on proposed construction
areas. While some residents saw the benefits of have having a more connected
city, opponents to the plan did not want to pay for or maintain
the new sidewalks.
One aspect of this project consisted of analyzing seven site suitability
variables which were determined by the 12 person community sidewalk
committee and also approved by city council members. These variables
were heavily debated among council and committee members however a consensus
was finally reached. The sidewalk variables were defined as follows;
proximity to schools (1/4 & 1/2 mile buffer), proximity to transit bus
stops (1/4 & 1/2 mile buffer), proximity to public facilities such
as churches, parks, clinics and retail centers (1/4 & 1/2 mile
buffer), street class (major arterial, minor arterial, collector), existing
sidewalk gaps, housing density (>4 units & <2 units), and
pedestrian/automotive accidents. The GIS analysis was performed on
each individual sidewalk segment for each city parcel. An index ranking
was then applied to sidewalk parcel segments depending on their spatial
location to each of the seven variables described above.
The community sidewalk committee was in charge of developing the
ranking system. Higher scores were given to sidewalk areas closer to schools,
public facilities and transit stops, higher accident risk areas, locations
with existing sidewalk gaps, areas adjacent to high density housing and
streets classified as high use. For example, sidewalk segments within a 1/4
mile of a school were given a ranking of 20 while areas within a 1/2
mile were given a ranking of 15. Based on the seven criteria, the highest
possible ranking was 100. Sidewalk construction is being
analyzed by zone with there being 9 different city zones; zones 1 and 2
are referenced in the three buffer analysis maps below. These visual tools
directly assisted in the sidewalk committee's analysis and subsequent
recommendation on sidewalk construction priority around the city.
After the total rank
(out of 100) was calculated for each individual property
segment based on the seven criteria, the data was then classified
using a natural breaks classification method for five class
intervals. The natural breaks method or (Jenks) classification, groups
features with similar values while trying to maximize the differences between
the means of the five different classes. The final sidewalk committee
analysis map is shown below. The committee is now tasked with the
difficult decisions of choosing which areas to start construction, what
side of the street (if not both) should be constructed, how the
project should be financed and what sort of construction time line should
be established. In early July, the Janesville City Council ultimately
voted to install more than two miles of sidewalk.
By the time we were finished with
this project, I was able to get a firm grasp on how policy, procedures and
public opinions heavily influenced the course of action within City
Hall. This analysis project is just one example of how GIS can be leveraged
to address important local community development decisions.
My
secondary responsibilities involved updating spatial and attribute
inconsistencies within the city’s water and sewer utility network data sets. Performing quality assurance
on the GIS utility network layers required the interpretation and comparison of
80 scales to the 2011 aerial photo of Janesville Wisconsin. Asbuilt field
inspection books were also referenced as needed. The process of utility QC
consisted of panning up and down streets checking both sewer and water utility
layers for spatial accuracy as well as populating/updating inaccurate or
missing feature attributes. Inaccuracies would then be documented or fixed on
the fly. Google Earth street view provided a platform for double checking
spatial discrepancies. If a manhole or hydrant was spatially off, I would
manually fix the location in the GIS and the accompanying attributes as well. Fixing
these discrepancies contributes towards building a more accurate utility
network. The goal of this work was to eventually build a complete geometric
network within the city of Janesville.
What do you think
gave you to edge to get the internship?
Throughout
my academic career in Eau Claire, I had created numerous posters powered by
ArcMap, GPS and Adobe Illustrator. Before I applied to the Janesville
internship, I assembled a collection of my best undergraduate work to be
displayed in an online portfolio using Google Blogger, a rather simple but
extremely effective blog site. My online portfolio was an incredible resource
that allowed me to show the kind of graduate level projects myself and other UWEC
geography students are creating.
Throughout
the summer, I got to know the city of Janesville GIS coordinator on a more
personal level, on my last day he told me straight up why I got the job.
Obviously, a solid departmental GPA never hurts; but it was the collection and
variety of maps and posters in my online portfolio that really set me apart
from other applicants. The student cartography skill set in the UWEC geography
department is incredible! Talking about your projects does not do it justice,
get those maps/posters online and make sure you can talk about every aspect of
them! As for my GIS proficiency, I felt very prepared for the GIS based work
this internship required. The professors in the department do an incredible job
of preparing you for the working world.
Was it a valuable
experience?
Hands
down the most valuable job experience I have ever had. Not only did this type
of work relate 100% to my major, but it was the most rewarding job I have had
yet. The work I was doing was actually being used to facilitate
important/controversial city decision within the Janesville community. This
internship has also given me insight into how GIS can be leveraged to help
solve real life problems, outside of the classroom setting. Using GIS outside
of the “cushion” of the Geography department was great for building my
confidence as a geographer. If a problem occurred, I was expected to troubleshoot
and use help files to find my way out of it. From this internship, I took away
a greater understanding of GIS tools, functions and applications.
How did the
logistics work for you? Did you have to move?
Luckily,
I was able to live at home for the summer and commute to Janesville every day. This
was actually a huge factor in my decision making for taking the internship. I
was able to gain incredible GIS experience all while living at home and saving
cash.
What advice can
you give to those who are looking for an internship?
1.) Start
building good relationships with your professors; they could be dynamite
references if you first show them you are a hard worker.
2.) I
highly recommend Student-Faculty Research. Based on my interview, employers
love to hear about projects besides regular classroom work that you’re going
above and beyond for.
3.)
Create an online
resume/portfolio where you can showcase your best work. You’re maps will speak
for themselves (although you will still need to explain them!) This could be
what sets you apart from all the generic resumes, it sure did for me.
4.)
Beginning level GIS internships
are not all glamorous, like any job you have to work your way up, be prepared
to enter data and watch loading screens. However, getting that first GIS
related job under your belt is imperative before you can move on to bigger and
better things. You will be surprised how small the GIS world is once you’re in
it. GIS professionals know each other, start making good working relationship
and they will pay dividends in the future, and NETWORK! Sometimes it’s not all
about what you know but who you know!!
