Mark 吉尔伯特 ’17 didn’t find his passion for 空间研究 until he was 48, “but I was always a late bloomer,他说.
当时, he already put in 15 years as an application programmer and analyst for the City of Berkeley. 吉尔伯特 worked for the city’s police and fire department in information technology system support. “I loved my job,他说. “That’s where I was first introduced to geographic information science (地理信息系统), through the computer-aided dispatch system. The 911 call system was all based on 地理信息系统.”
吉尔伯特, who majored in aerospace engineering and worked with tech startups during the first dot-com boom in the 1990s, knew he wanted to get an advanced degree, but was never quite sure what to study. One day, he came upon an ad for the University of Redlands 地理信息系统女士 program in ArcUser Magazine. After finding out he could get his 地理信息系统女士 in one year, he was sold.
“In using the tools and learning about what 地理信息系统 was [at my job in public safety], I realized that there was a connection between data and location,他说. “I love being in the data and figuring out what it says, so I’m always trying to figure out, ‘What does this all mean?’”
Today, 吉尔伯特 creates software as one of Esri’s population data scientists. His work helps governments deliver health or human services to their citizens, work on environmental missions, or allocate budgets. It’s work that fulfills part of 吉尔伯特’s personal mission and gives him a reason to be excited to go to work each day: “We’re mapping where people are to promote a safer, 更健康的, and more sustainable planet.”
Going back to being a student at 48 was a piece of cake, 吉尔伯特说,, especially because his husband was able to support him financially while he studied full time. “School was a treat and a pleasure, and I knew that if I didn’t do the absolute best that I could, it would be my own fault. So I totally dove into it.”
吉尔伯特, whose previous university experience was at large state schools, said he was “absolutely thrilled and satisfied” at U of R. “[The University of Redlands] is the perfect size—you really get to know your classmates, and you’re really taken care of, from the administrative aspects to the classes. At my 年龄, I appreciated it so much more.”
In his coursework, 吉尔伯特 sought to connect his academic experiences with his personal ones. For his capstone (major individual project), he worked with a film and television production location scout and built a web-based app for the City of Palm Springs. It gave location scouts the information needed—such as square foot年龄, 最大容量, parking—to shoot films or TV shows, while building on his love of Hollywood and films. “Having that connection between my academic experience and film and television production was a win-win,他说.
His work paid off; in 2016, 吉尔伯特 won the U of R’s Roger Tomlinson Award for Excellence in 地理信息系统, which recognizes strong research and academic capabilities in the field.
As a Redlands alumnus who now works at Esri, 吉尔伯特 appreciates the University’s strong connection to the biggest 地理信息系统 software company in the world and to the Redlands community. “If you're a 地理信息系统 professional and you really want to be close to the source, Redlands is the place to be,他说. “[Students in] the 地理信息系统女士 program get to use the latest and greatest versions of Esri software and the training is provided by Esri professionals. You are working with faculty members from Esri; they’re seeing your work and giving you feedback. You still have to perform at your best and deliver, but when the course is done, they have a pretty good idea of what you’re going to be like in a professional environment. That's worth its weight in gold.”
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