Majoring in Geography at UMW was one of the best things I could have done for myself. I did not start my college career thinking I was going to study Human Geography, but once I took a course in the program, I knew it was for me. The exposure to how geography intersects with people, communities, development, and culture all fascinated me. I felt that every professor I had in the department truly desired to see me and my classmates succeed and wanted to offer the support we needed to propel us into the world.
I now work as the Associate Director of a non-profit that offers a training course to people all over the world to learn how to use sports to develop community programs for youth in their area. Our goal is to equip our students with knowledge and resources to serve their communities through sports programs and also offer mentorship to youth while growing their partnerships among organizations, churches, and businesses. We work towards providing them with information to make their programs sustainable through their own businesses and farms; not one alumni is financially dependent on our organization.
I firmly believe that the UMW Geography department equipped me to do what I am doing now, and taught me how to work and learn as an open-minded contributor to a global community. I also can confidently say that this department fervently upholds the UMW mission to be “a place where faculty, students, and staff share in the creation and fearless exploration of knowledge through freedom of inquiry, personal responsibility, and service.” From class lectures to group projects to studying abroad, I am so grateful for every experience I had studying Geography at UMW.