Meet Erin, Graduate Ambassador
“I’ve always loved geography and the life sciences. It interests me to see the spatial relationships between things and then be able to map them out,” Erin says. Erin plans on majoring in Biogeography and centering her Master’s research on the interactions between humans, the environment and energy.
She is particularly interested in alternative natural energy sources which she believes will become more commonplace in the upcoming years. Erin notes that these types of energy sources (like hydroelectric power, windmills, and biofuels such as corn) require a larger area of land per amount of yield than more traditional kinds of power. To bolster her research, she hopes to utilize her newly acquired G.I.S. (global information system) skills, incorporating any relevant maps she generates into her thesis to support her data.
Even before she became a fledgling geographer, Erin loved to travel. She has been to France, Ireland, England, Costa Rica, Thailand, Mexico, Canada, and many states within the United States. No doubt this is why she is drawn to cartography even though her undergraduate degree is in Elementary Education.
Erin feels NMSU’s faculty provided her with a superb foundation in geography which was especially critical because she didn’t have the necessary background in her chosen Master’s discipline. Moreover if it hadn’t been for the encouragement she received from family, friends and faculty, she would be seeking another Bachelor’s degree instead of entering a graduate degree program. Erin is confident of her future success at NMSU. Upon graduation she intends to move to the northwestern U.S. where she will continue to travel and experience other cultures while working in the biogeography field which she loves so much.
