Peer-to-Peer Education through the GIS Mentors Program

By Jimmy Brunker

Beginning in Fall 2019 under the guidance of Dr. Ashley York, the Geographic Information Science/Systems (GIS) Mentors program was developed as a group of students who have demonstrated excellence in their geospatial classes, a willingness to help others in GIS education, and a desire to apply in support of research and professional opportunities. My name is Jimmy Brunker and I am a senior with a double-major in GIS, and Community and Environmental Planning. My first semester as a GIS Mentor was Fall of 2020, a semester that thrust me into completely remote instruction. Navigating this transition was difficult but ultimately, I adopted an adequate workflow. Assisting my peers in their GIS projects became part of this workflow, and allowed me to further enrich my GIS knowledge, even if I was not taking a GIS class that semester. The variety of my peers’ research interests led to a unique set of problems each session. If I was unfamiliar with a particular topic or technique, I would leave the session having learned just as much as the person I was helping. Transitioning from online instruction back to in-person instruction was a heavy undertaking for me, as I had become relatively comfortable in this format. However, I feel that GIS instruction is best taught in-person, where collaboration among students in the computer lab is possible. This rings true for GIS Mentors as well, as I am now able to sit next to the person I am helping and point at their  monitor, rather than giving directions over Zoom. Being a GIS Mentor has been a particularly invaluable experience for me, and I have continued to fulfill this role every semester since. All-in-all, I am more confident in my GIS skills than ever, and I credit that to my time as a GIS Mentor. This semester I am happy to be joined by two new GIS Mentors, Julia Moseley (major in Community and Environmental Planning, minor in GIS) and Callin Stockton (major in Geology, minors in GIS, Geography, and Astronomy).