USGIF Announces 2019 Stu Shea Endowed Scholarship Recipient

At the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation’s (USGIF) GEOINT 2019 Symposium, Jaclyn Guz was recognized as the recipient of the Stu Shea USGIF Endowed Scholarship. Guz is a student at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., pursuing her PhD in geography. The scholarship honours K. Stuart Shea, one of the founders of USGIF and the first chief executive and chairman of the organization. The US$15,000 scholarship is awarded annually to one PhD student studying cartography, geography or imaging science.

“I am very happy to be the recipient of the Stu Shea Endowed Scholarship,” Guz said. “This scholarship enables me to better conduct my research by allowing flexibility and freedom to explore questions and methods that were not previously feasible. Additionally, it opens networking opportunities and the ability to interact and collaborate with experts in my field. I hope the connections I make will allow me to expand my skill sets and help me to advance geospatial technology.”

Guz earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Texas A&M University in 2016. In the first year of her PhD programme, she completed a research project in Colorado and Wyoming that quantified how post-fire regeneration density has decreased throughout the past century. The project was partially funded by a USGIF Scholarship she was awarded in 2018.

Life skills

Two internships at Esri helped Guz develop skills in machine learning and big data that she applied during her PhD research. Outside of school, Guz volunteers with the Worcester chapter of Girls Inc., a nationwide nonprofit that helps young girls gain life skills, specifically through their Eureka! STEM and Leadership Program. As part of her volunteer efforts, Guz helped acquire a grant from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. The grant funded a healthy community mapping project for the Worcester chapter, which Guz hopes will be implemented at other Girls Inc. chapters across the nation.

The Stu Shea scholarship is part of the overall USGIF Scholarship Program. The full list of 2019 scholarship recipients will be announced this summer. Learn more about the USGIF Scholarship Program here.