My Internship with Forsyth County Schools

Right before I graduated in December, I saw an internship posting at Forsyth County Schools, so I sent them my resume.  Shorty after, I received a phone call to come in for an interview.  We actually had to reschedule the interview three times, but they finally got me in before Christmas break.  It was my first "official" interview with my job-field.  I was nervous at first, but the interview went really well.  They told me they would make the decision today, but wouldn't call until after Christmas break.

After the interview, I began my search for graduate schools; if you have done this before, you know how stressful this can be.  It was almost a month until Forsyth Schools called me-- they offered me one of the two internship positions, and I accepted it.  I still had to fill out some paper work and get a background check, which almost took another two weeks itself.  I didn't actually start working until the very end of January. 

A school displaying the floor plan polygons (orange) and some
outside GPS attributes

When my co-worker, Mackenzie, and I first started, all we did was digitize in ArcMap.  A majority of the schools had been done by the previous interns, so we mostly did the support buildings and new schools.  The plans were already scanned in, so we just had to georeference them (give a picture coordinates to see where it is on Earth), and then trace their features.  In terms of GIS jargon, we had to add to the structure shapefile by digitizing all of the walls, windows, interior and exterior doors.  The way we did it, we would create the large wall, then split the line when a new feature showed up (like a window).  

Collecting Storm Water-
Single Wing Catch Basin

Once all of the structures were digitized, we added to the floor plan shapefile-- we would create a polygon of the outside of the school and snap it to the outer-most structure (so that all of the line features were in the big polygon).  After we created our huge school polygon, it was time to split that polygon into smaller polygons.  From the edit toolbar, we used the cut-polygon tool.  You would select the large school polygon, then trace around the structure features to create a classroom (or gym, or closet, or mechanical area, etc.).  

Storm Water- Drop Inlet Catch Basin

After each classroom had its own polygon, it was time to attribute it.  Each feature in the floor plan shapefile has attributes for room type, room number, square feet, comments, administrative area, etc.  Sometimes this information was on the scanned plan, but sometimes it wasn't.  Doing this whole procedure took some time to do-- and a little longer if the school had two floors.

Storm Water- Curb Inlet Catch Basin

We did this for almost two months until we finally got the new GPS unit (and the weather was a little warmer).  We wanted to have all of the outside attributes on our maps as well.  A majority of the schools were done, but needed to be verified, while the newer schools weren't done at all.  We had to find the civil plan which would have all of the sewer, storm water, water, gas, electric, etc. information.  We would pick one dictionary (storm water), and trace that on a copy of the plan.  One of us would have the GPS unit, while the other had the map.  We would walk around the school finding the features (headwalls, outlet control structures, junction boxes, catch basins).  Storm water, sewer, fire hydrants, electric poles, and fence posts are all easy to do since you can find these things above ground.  To find the gas, water, or electric lines, we need the locator that the maintenance people use (it sounds like you're talking to aliens).  

Storm Water-
Single Wing Catch Basin

Storm Water- Yard Inlet Catch Basin

We would spend days outside collecting all of this data.  Then, we would go back to the office and transfer it to the computer.  Even though we have SBASS turned on for the GPS (real-time correction), we would still run the differential correction tool to see if we can post process the points.  Once we are confident, we would export the data out into a geodatabase, and then import it into ArcMap with our huge GPS database.  We would copy the data from the exported geodatabase, then paste it into the right layer.  

Finding a Headwall

We would make sure that it looks right.  With objects like storm water and sewer, we would then have to connect them and follow the plan to see where they go.  With items like fence posts, we move the points a little bit to make them a little straighter, then connect them with a fence line.  Even though we are taking these points with a sub-foot GPS, tree coverage still is a factor when trying to collect points.  

Storm Water -Headwall

Our supervisor says that we are going at a nice pace, and not to worry about running out of stuff to do.  I'm glad this internship is paid-- it's not a whole lot and only 20 hours a week, but I get to do something that I like, and it's in my field.  I will have this internship until I move for graduate school. 

We collected 2,085 fence post points for one high school in a month

My MegaBus Experience

Have you ever thought about riding a charter bus to a different city in the United States? 

Well, I never gave it a thought until I decided I wanted to visit my grandmother during my Spring Break.  I haven't heard about the MegaBus company until I saw it on the highway during a trip.  It was a huge blue double-decker bus with a advertisement for $1 fares.  I just stored it in my mind until about two months ago when I wanted to make a trip from Atlanta, GA to Memphis, TN.

I drive a 1997 Toyota 4-Runner....not the best vehicle since I get maybe 18 miles per gallon on a good tank.  Not to mention that the drive is 440 miles one way.....

My first instinct was to look at plane tickets.  I searched on Google Flights and couldn't find a thing!  Actually, everything that I did find was around $400!  Definitely not worth it.  But was it worth the wear & tear on my car?  I finally remembered about MegaBus and looked up their prices.

I couldn't believe what I saw.  $47 round trip on the megabus... $47!!!!  Now, I couldn't get gas that cheap with my car.  I made sure the dates and times were good with my grandma and purchased the tickets from the megabus website.  The actual price was $24 from ATL to MEM, and $21 from MEM to ATL with a $1.50 fee for both trips, so it ended up being $47.  I looked at greyhound as well, but I didn't like the times they were offering, and megabus was a few bucks cheaper.

ATL to MEM

My dad was kind enough to drop me off at the Atlanta MegaBus stop at 6am in the morning.  When we arrived at the stop, it was like the airport-- people jumping out of cars and grabbing their bags and going to the side of the road.  Traffic was definitely a little crazy since the road the stop is off of is a active street with a stop light.  I jumped out of the car and walked towards the MARTA area.  I asked one of the megabus workers where my bus was, and they told me that it wasn't here yet.  They then pointed me in the direction where to wait.  
There were two lines waiting-- one for Charlotte, NC and the other for Memphis, TN.  Now, the bus wasn't suppose to leave until 6:20, and it was only 6:00....
We waited a little longer, then the bus arrived.  The riders were respectful to each other-- there was no "line-jumping."  I finally got on the bus, and the lower section was full.  I went to the upper level, and grabbed a seat by the window.  I had my jacket and bag with me that had a book and snacks for the ride.  Shortly after, the bus began to start and a lady jumped in the empty seat that was next to mine-- you could tell she was running late.  The bus left at 6:27am and was going directly to Birmingham, AL.  Once we got on the road, the driver gave us a quick safety lesson and kept the overhead lights on; once he was finished, he turned the lights off, and most everyone went to sleep.  
We arrived in Birmingham too early, the bus driver said, in fact, a whole hour early!  He was kind enough to stop at a Love's gas station for us to walk around for 20 minutes.  The Love's had a McDonald's inside so I grabbed myself a biscuit since it was only 9:30am EST.  We got back on the bus and stopped at Birmingham.  It took about ten minutes for the people to get off and the new passengers to get on.  Once we got on the road again, the driver told us that we were going to stop in Tupelo, MS for a thirty minute lunch break-- something I wasn't expecting.
If you haven't been at a Love's gas station, they have pretty much everything.  They had a McDonald's and Subway attached.  They also sold fresh fruit, vegetable drinks, granola, chips, and soda pop.  I didn't eat anything during that break since we were only 1hr 30min away from Memphis, but I did walk around outside.
We arrived in Memphis about ten minutes early.  My grandma was there waiting for me.  It took the driver a good 5 minutes to unload some of the bags, then dismissed us from the bus.  

The ride was about 7hr 30mins total.  I spent most of the time reading, looking out the window, and playing games on my phone.  The bus had wifi-- it worked for the most part, but it did get slow when a lot of people were using it.  The seats also had power plugs directly in front of you.  Both of them worked at my seat, but I didn't need to use them.  I do wish there was a cup holder-- there is a small mesh pocket on the seat in front of you, but it's not made for bottles.  I didn't talk to my seat mate-- she slept the entire trip.  And all of the passengers on my bus were all types of ages and ethnicities.  The bus was pretty full, which I think a single mega bus holds 88 people!  The ride was pretty smooth.  I wish that I brought a pillow and some headphones, but hey, rookie mistake! 

MEM to ATL

I left Memphis at 9:30am on a Friday.  The bus was definitely packed, and I once again sat on the upper level next to the window.  While waiting for the bus, another passenger told me to never waste my money on the lower level table seat (which is an extra $1), and to always try to get a reserved seat on the upper level (extra $5).  She said that the seats are a little bigger, you get the front row window view, and more leg room (which is big enough to set her guitar).  Maybe next time I go I'll buy the upgraded seat, but I really didn't know if it was worth it or not. 
Anyways, I thought I was going to get the row to myself, until an older lady (in her 40s?) sat next to me.  She was jamming out to some gospel music and browsing her ipad the whole time.  On the way back, the megabus had very spotty wifi.  I actually never got it to work.  Both of the power plus worked, but my seatmate used them both for herself.  I ended up reading the whole time and looking out the window.  We once again stopped in Tupelo for lunch.  We got back on the bus and started heading to Birmingham.  It was raining and some traffic, but it didn't delay our time.  We actually arrived in Atlanta 30 minutes early; however, a majority of the passenger's rides weren't there yet.
It felt like the ride back home was slower, but I think that was because I was going home.

MegaBus route map from Wikipedia

Overall:

-I had a good experience both ways.  The bus back to ATL didn't have good wifi so that sorta stunk, but I did have a book and games to keep me busy.
-The bus only stopped twice- at Birmingham and Tupelo.
-The bus stayed on schedule which was nice.
-I didn't use the restroom that was on the bus, so I don't know how clean it was.

-For $47, I would definitely ride it again.  Riding the MegaBus is a great eco-friendly way to travel.  Some trips have overnight rides if you're into that; you could also save on a hotel this way.  I think more people should consider travelling with the MegaBus.  It does cut down on the fossil fuels you use when you travel long distance.  If you have someone to pick you up at the bus stop, that's great!  Otherwise taxis will come and go at the bus stops.   


** I think I covered everything.  Please let me know if you have any other questions about my experience!

Links:
MegaBus Website
MegaBus Wikipedia
Google Flights

Make Every Day Earth Day

So if you paid any attention this past couple of weeks, you probably saw a "Earth" theme going on.  

On April 11th, my youngest sister and I spent 4 hours at a local state park "sweeping the hooch."  Yes, we spent 4 hours walking the shoreline of Lake Lanier picking up trash.  We found so many objects: pool noodles, assorted shoes, part of a coffee pot, bottles, Styrofoam, wheels, an easter egg, plastic flower pots, and a spool of thread!  The task wasn't that terrible-- I felt like I was doing my part by making the park clean.  Also, my ecology lab partner from last semester was there, so that was nice catching up with her.  According to the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (the organization in charge of Sweeping the Hooch), there were 500 volunteers and 14,320 lbs of trash picked up....now that's a lot of trash, people!

Anywho, National Park Week was from April 18-26 this year.  During National Parks Week, the park entrance fee was waived hoping that more people would come out and discover the National Parks.  Probably the most famous National Park in Northeast Georgia is the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.  Now I didn't participate that week by visiting a National Park; however, I have visited a few before, and I would definitely go back and pay the fee!  

Next event would be John Muir's birthday-- April 21st.  Now, I'm no John Muir expert, but I do know that he was a huge part of persevering America's wilderness.  You might have heard of him because he is the founder of the Sierra Club and some people call him "The Father of the National Parks."  

The immediate day after Muir's birthday is Earth Day, April 22nd!  Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970--so during the time of the hippie movement...lol!  Anyways, I remember as an elementary school student, we learned about our part of Earth Day-- the 3Rs!  Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.  Even if someone does the smallest act of sustainability, it is better than none!  I don't care about your political views-- I think every human being should do their part to make the world a better place--whether that be use a reusable water bottle, cut down on plastic bags at the supermarket, carpool with a co-worker, turning off lights when you leave the room, throwing away your trash and not littering!!!! The list goes on, and it's so easy to be sustainable, but people just don't care or they're lazy! ughhhh 

Next day I'd like to mention is Arbor Day--April 24th!! This day pretty much observes the importance of trees!  Hello!  These big guys help us breath, prevent erosion, and give us shade!  I've always liked trees and always felt sad when trees got cut down.  Yes, some trees aren't sturdy, ie. Pine Trees, and people want to cut them down so they won't hit their house in an event of an ice storm.  But, I think people should have the mindset that if they cut a tree down, they should try to plant another tree somewhere else.  Plus, it is always cool to watch a tree grow.  Back in 2006/2007, I planted a red maple tree by our house; it is now 2015, and it has grown so much!  Switching gears a little bit, I want to start identifying trees...I used to know some back when I was in Girl Scouts, but I never kept up with it.  Boo.... Anyways, appreciate trees!  Plant some if you can! Trees = Life! 

Lastly, as someone who Geocaches frequently, April 24-27 was International CITO Day.  CITO stand for "Cache In, Trash Out."  CITO events encourage geocachers to pick up trash while they are out geocaching.  On April 25th, I joined a few geocachers on Lake Lanier and picked up some trash on an island.  On the 26th, I joined another group at a park off the lake in Dawsonville.  Now Brandon and I always pick up trash when we are geocaching.  We hate seeing trash on nature trails...it really defeats the purpose of "walking in nature" if you find wrappers, plastic water bottles, and cigarette butts on the ground.

Anyways, if you read this far, I hope you kinda-sorta get my point.  Don't Litter and Appreciate Nature.  Mother Earth is for everyone to share; therefore, it is everyone's duty to keep her clean.  Though "Earth Month" comes to an end tomorrow, treat every day as if it were Earth Day.  Pick up litter if you come across it.  Think twice whether you should toss something in the trash or but it in a recycle bin.  It's easy, and most of the resources are there!  

Links for further reading:
Sweep The Hooch
National Parks Week
Map of National Parks
More about John Muir
Earth Day
Arbor Day
GeoCaching CITO

What Am I Doing?

Recently, I have been running into old classmates from my early years of college and from high school, and of course, they ask me what I am up to.  Well, that's easy -- I'm a GIS Intern for Forsyth County-- and then I have to explain what I do exactly. 

First let's back up.  When I attend parties/gatherings and talk to new people, they ask me what I study.  Well, I studied Applied Environmental Spatial Analysis.  When I tell them this, no matter how much they had or didn't have to drink, I get this dumbfounded look on their face.  I would say this is normal since there was only one encounter where I met someone else who also studied GIS at UGA-- we ended up talking for almost an hour about both of the programs and what we liked and didn't like--- it was great!  Once I get that look, I proceed to tell them that I study GIS.  If the look is still there, I tell them that I make maps and analyze them, but in all honesty, I do way more than that!

So what did I study in university?  I studied a combination of the following: Python programming and web development, GeoSpatial Techonology (GIS, remote sensing, digital image processing, and GPS use), Geography, and Environmental Studies.  You can also throw in some Physics and upper level maths for giggles.  Anyways, I'm probably still getting weird looks, so let me break it down for you.

1. Python Programming- So this is an easy computer language that anyone can learn how to do.  I actually started learning it before I was in the IESA (Institute of Environmental Spatial Analysis).  For my degree, you learn how to use the computer language to automate tasks in the GIS software we use (ArcMap).  Later on in the program, you learn how to use Python to display your map with data on a website.  This is a super handy skill for the work force.  Not only is it nice to have some computer skills under your belt, but computer programming also teaches you to think critically and enhance your problem solving skills. 
   
2. GeoSpatial Technologies - This is the foundation of the program at UNG.  GeoSpatial Technologies include the following: GIS, Remote Sensing, and GPS
1. GIS- GeoSpatial Information Systems.  This is where you have a system that can create, store, manage, manipulate, analyze, and then display your spatial data. This is done with software on the computer -- we normally use ArcMap, but there are several other opensource software available (QGIS, GRASS, etc).  So this is where you "make maps and analyze them."  You can map anything and everything if you have the data.  You can use census data to find all the low income areas in a certain area of interest or you can map out all of the watersheds or parks or greenspace or farms....the list goes on!
   
    
2. Remote Sensing- This is where you examine orthoimagery (high resolution aerial photos).  The big idea here is that you can answer your questions without having to go to the actual location!  For example: I can find out width of the base of the Pyramids of Giza by looking for familiar objects in the aerial photo.  In this photo, you can see in the bottom right hand side there is a soccer/football field.  The normal length of a field is 100-110m.  I can then create a scale factor to figure out the length of the pyramids.  However, we also use remote sensing for land cover classification.  You can run classification tools to find out the percentage of land cover of a certain area.  Ex:  An area of interest might be 30% trees, 40% water, 10% urban/rocks/soils, and 20% pasture/grassy areas.  You can also see how much an area of interest has developed over time!
   
3. GPS- We use GPS to collect our data.  You can collect anything with GPS-- trails, lamp posts, benches, small ponds, etc.  You then can import your data and make a map in your GIS to show people what is at your area of interest. 
   
3. Geography and Environmental Studies-  Though this wasn't my area of concentration, I did learn how humans treat the environment and how we should become more sustainable.  

Now that you have some background, now I'll tell you what I do as a GIS Intern at Forsyth County schools.  I work in the Facilities department where they design, plan, build, and maintain the schools.  As a GIS Intern, we take the floorplans of the schools and trace them in our GIS software.  We are digitizing all of the walls, doors, and windows.  We make the doors one color, walls a different and so on....  Once we do that, we can then trace the the big school polygon and make polygons within the 1 school, this way each room is its own polygon.  After that, we can give attributes to the room such as room classification, room number, sq. foot, etc.  Once we finish a school, it is ideal to go to the school to make sure it is correct.  Some room number might be wrong, they might turn a storage area into an Assistant Principal's office, or sometimes the school's PTO will hire outside work to build up or take down walls.  So why are we doing this?  

1.  For the Maintenance personal.  Most of them have ipads/tablets with their duties on them.  The BOE wants to eventually have all of the floor plans with its attributes on the tablets for them so they don't have to take plans out of the plan room.  It cuts down on paper when everything is available in digital form. 
2. For the County.  If there were a fire, terrorist attack, or anything of sorts, the county can quickly pull up the school plan to find all of the exits, or tell the school to block certain hallways, etc.  

In addition, we also do outside collection.  We have been collecting and attributing features such as storm water, waster water, water, gas, electric, and even fence posts.  But why?  Just in case something were to happen, like a water pipe burst, or if they wanted to build an addition, they know where all of the lines are located.  Normally if they want to locate a line like power, they have to take time to use the locator to find the line.  They spray paint it, but it can go away.  If we locate it and get coordinates for it, they will know in the future where it is so they won't have to spend time or they won't accidentally hit it.  

Do I like it there? Of course!  It's a paid internship-- not much, but more than what I was making as a cashier at Publix.  It's 20 hours a week, and our supervisor is super flexible. I like it because it's in my field, and I get to do both outside data collection, and inside data creation.  The environment is great.  My co-worker is great.  And we are working through the summer with is also awesome.  

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this field.  Everything about it is great.  I love that this field will help people out for the better. 

Links!

IESA at UNG 

Learn how to code with Python

What is GIS?

What is Remote Sensing?

Forsyth County GIS mapper

Resurrecting My Blog

I haven't used this blog since my Study Abroad trip, and I really wanted to keep it up.  Since my life is changing pretty fast, I decided to continue this blog with a "new" objective.  

The original name for the blog was "CorrynInBerlin," but since I'm not in Berlin anymore, my new name is "MuchWunderlust."  Here, you can keep up with all of the crazy adventures I go on.

However, this blog isn't about my "party life" (or lack thereof), but more about how my life is revolved around my career and vice versa.

I posted on Facebook last month that I will be attending Northern Arizona University this Fall.  I hope to keep this blog up to date with what I learn, what I study, and where I go while earning my Master's degree.

I'm both excited and nervous about this move, but I cannot wait to see how I will grow academically at NAU.  

Stay tuned....

**Update 4/30/15** My blog name is now "TravelsWithMaps"....seems appropriate, don't you think?

The last day of class

July 28th, 2014

Well, I woke up early enough to finish up my outline for the debate.  I went to breakfast and then to class.  It was nice listening to all of the different debates.  After lunch, Mark and I walked around Pankow, and I picked up some Crispy M&M's as a treat for myself.  We had our weekly meeting, and we all discovered that the bus is actually leaving on Wednesday at 5:30 am....yikes! Looks like I'm not going to go to sleep on Tuesday, lol.  Anywho, Professor Smith was kind enough to request a BBQ style dinner for tonight--however it was a 6pm.  Hmmm, it was 4pm, and you really cannot do anything in 2 hours.  Cat, Jess, and myself went to Alexanderplatz and grabbed a cup of coffee since I was hungry but I didn't want to eat anything before the dinner.

The dinner was really good--we had ribs, steak, and hamburgers.  After dinner, Sean, Spencer, Aaron, and myself went to the TV Tower to see the sunset.  We only had a 30 minute wait, and the sun was setting as soon as we got up there.  It was really cool to see all of Berlin from 300m about the ground.  I noticed that quite a few buildings had gardens/grass on their roofs.  I will attach some photos to show you what I saw.

I love Berlin so much! I am so glad I was able to take this trip.  I've met so many great people, saw so many things, and made lots of new memories.  I am sad that I am leaving this wonderful city, but I do miss my family, dog, and boyfriend....and also ice and air conditioning haha.  I was expecting it to be a bigger culture shock, but Berlin isn't that much different than Georgia.  I can notice quite a few differences, but I still love it. 

Berlin, until next time! :) 

My last Sunday :(

Sunday, July 27th
I slept in a lot today since I was out late last night.  I was going to go to a museum, but I really wasn't feeling it.  I once again went to the Tiergarten.  It is one of my favorite spots in all of Berlin.  We walked from the Brandenburg Tor to the Victory Column.  After that, we celebrated Colin's birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe.
I think one thing that I will miss from Berlin is how great the transportation system is- the trams, the bus, the city trains, and the underground trains.  Although it takes a little slower that say driving by car, there are so many different ways to go to one place.  I really will miss not driving, haha! In addition, since a lot of people take advantage of the public transportation, it is really cutting down Berlin's carbon foot print.  I wish Atlanta had a better metro system.  I know we have marta but it really doesn't go anywhere.

Anyways, I took Sunday pretty easy.  It was also uncomfortably hot and humid....blahh.  Not ready for Georgia weather.