An Interview with Jason Urias, BA, Geography

 

Jason Urias graduated in January 2022 with honors in Geography. He currently works as a GIS analyst for the NYC Department of Transportation.

How has Hunter Geography helped shape who you are today/your future?
Hunter Geography program shaped the foundation of how I understand the world today and the career I want. Before coming to Hunter, I studied at BMCC where I earned my Associate’s degree. I appreciate the professors and my peers from courses such as geography and GIS. While conducting research at BMCC, topics such as politics and social science and environment studies quickly grabbed my attention and I want to pursue it further. I enjoyed learning how to use the tools of the programs to visualize and answer my questions and helped with my analysis. With these two introduction classes I saw both a practical use and doing something I love which is helping my community. When I decided to major in Geography specializing in GIS, I embarked on a journey of propose, I had always longed for. The skills I learned at Hunter particular the concept of place which explained human characteristics and cultural attribute such as political systems and land use and I wanted to learn a practical and technical skills to help me obtaining a career in the GIS field will be useful in my future plans to attend graduate school and my role as a college aid at NYC Department of Transportation. Most of all, I appreciate my professors for offering support, guidance and encouragement helping me throughout my time at Hunter.

What was being a student in NYC like?
Being a student in NYC was great I lived in NYC all my life and to attend college is inspirational to my family, community and myself. The sometimes difficulty of living in NYC became a joyful and hopeful look at the city. And resources was given to me for a purpose I always had in helping uplift myself and my community and all communities that struggle with the same problems.

While at Hunter, I had an internship with the Department of Transportation. I valued the diversity of my classmates and the professors which enriched my college experience. The relationships and connections with the people of NYC grew and enriched my life. And I will always be a student in NYC because I plan to continual my education and enroll in a master’s program and I always want to keep learning and growing and changing in all facets of my life education personal and career.

How has Hunter Geography/Environmental Science helped shape who you are today/your future?
Coming from parents who immigrated to the NYC from Latin America and having the opportunity to achieve a bachelor’s degree Hunter College and the Geography department has made me a grateful to have a quality education and for a hopeful future where I can be of service to communities in need.

The professors have helped me realized how to approach learning in what I want to focus on and learn as oppose to what I think my professors want of me for example on assignments. Everyone at Hunter has shown me to be kind and compassionated to myself, others and the environment by encouragement and support and that enabled me to hope and dream for a future where I can make a different in my community and my personal and field. Hunter has given me the insight of how the world and people work which in turn has enabled I have learned about myself and I have become more self-aware which allows me to work on myself and my craft and work towards becoming the best version of myself and working towards my future aspirations.

Furthermore, GIS courses exposed me to computer systems and data analysis which are skills and tool I use today. Also, I enjoyed courses such as Remote Sensing where I got to analyze satellite images to solve complex problems. My time at Hunter validated that geography was a field that I was passionate about and wanted to pursue to career in.

Published: February 10, 2022