GIS4944 - Internship Introduction - ECMRD

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I’m excited to share a bit about my summer internship and how I will be getting some hands-on experience with GIS.

I’m currently working as a GIS Intern for the Escambia County Marine Resource Division which is a marine-focused environmental organization in Northwest Florida. My core responsibilities are mapping artificial reefs using ArcGIS, organizing and correcting spatial data, analyzing reef conditions and deployment history, and helping to tell the story of our reef projects using StoryMaps. On top of this, I will be helping out with other projects that other Marine Resource Division interns will be conducting such as plant identification and harmful algal bloom surveys.

To earn my academic credit for the GIS Certificate, I will be learning and building upon my current GIS knowledge, getting around 130 hours of active GIS work done. I will also be completing some assignments and projects required from my internship like creating a final internship report and presentation, attending scheduled field days, and assisting with reef condition mapping.

As part of my assignments to help me become more active in the GIS community, I joined the Northwest Florida GIS User Group on Facebook. This group is open to anyone in the region who’s interested in geospatial data, mapping projects, or GIS careers and is genuinely a great platform for local networking.

I also signed up for the Florida Geographic Information Office (FGIO) mailing list through their website, The FGIO serves as a statewide GIS coordination hub, sharing updates on standards, open data, training events, and even covers other GIS groups that meet across Florida. Being subscribed to their mailing list gives me a direct line to the broader Florida GIS community and keeps me updated on new and informative GIS initiatives.

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