{"id":13253,"date":"2026-01-15T09:08:04","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T15:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13253"},"modified":"2026-01-15T09:08:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T15:08:04","slug":"mapping-what-matters-uwl-students-explore-commerce-data-center-suitability-wildlife-protection-and-other-real-world-questions-through-gis","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/mapping-what-matters-uwl-students-explore-commerce-data-center-suitability-wildlife-protection-and-other-real-world-questions-through-gis\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping what matters: UWL students explore commerce, data center suitability, wildlife protection and other real-world questions through GIS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
At right, Junior Finn Patenaude, a geography major with GIS concentration, presents maps on optimal sites for wildlife crossings and the mass migration of monarch butterflies during UWL\u2019s Geography & Environmental Science Department reverse career fair where students shared their projects with employers. “The GIS classes here at UWL give us the tools that both unlock our imagination and allow it to run wild. Showing our creative side in addition to our academic and technical skills allows us as students to share what makes us special and unique with potential employers,” he says.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Making a map isn\u2019t just about marking locations on the Earth \u2014 it\u2019s about uncovering the stories behind data and patterns that can ultimately help communities make informed decisions.<\/p>\n

This semester,\u00a0UWL geography and environmental science<\/a>\u00a0students did exactly that. Through their Geographic Information Systems (GIS) coursework, they created maps that tackle real-world issues ranging from wildlife conservation to data center expansion.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Dec. 5, students showcased their projects during the department\u2019s first-ever reverse career fair \u2014 an event where employers visit students at their project displays rather than the other way around. The format gave students a chance to share their skills directly with professionals and demonstrate how GIS tools can translate classroom knowledge into meaningful, applied work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Finding the next Trader Joe\u2019s?<\/h3>\n
\"\"
In addition to her Trader Joe’s map, UWL Junior and Environmental Science Major Claire Rolbiecki, left, created a map in shape of hands holding a coffee cup. While eye-catching, it is also a rich visual guide to the world\u2019s top coffee-producing countries, exploring how factors like climate, temperature and latitude interact to create region-specific coffee bean characteristics. She learned how climate influences sweetness, how altitude affects whether beans develop into Robusta or Arabica varieties, and why top-producing regions fall within the global \u201ccoffee belt,\u201d where growing conditions are ideal. \u201cFrom this map, the audience can understand where to find their desired coffee bean blend based on the biome present,\u201d she explains.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

UWL students Claire Rolbiecki and Melanie Weis brought together their love of Trader Joe\u2019s and their GIS skills to answer a question they and likely other Wisconsinites want to know: Where should the next Trader Joe\u2019s go \u2014 La Crosse or Appleton?<\/p>\n

Using ArcGIS Pro, they mapped commercial zones and analyzed socio-economic factors that influence successful retail locations. Their multicriteria spatial analysis ultimately showed that La Crosse is slightly better suited for a potential Trader Joe\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned in-depth knowledge of ArcGIS Pro and Adobe Illustrator, strengthened my work ethic, and deepened my understanding of the variables and patterns behind retail location decisions,\u201d says Rolbiecki.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Data center suitability in Minnesota<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Alyssa Poncius is a graduating senior majoring in biology with an environmental science concentration and minoring in sustainability & environmental studies.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the Midwest becomes a hub for data centers \u2014 infrastructure supporting everything from cloud computing to artificial intelligence \u2014 understanding where to place these facilities is increasingly important.<\/p>\n

Senior Alyssa Poncius and classmate Abi Furlano mapped statewide suitability for data centers in Minnesota, then examined the social vulnerability of communities in the two most suitable counties: Stearns and Otter Tail. While the Twin Cities area is already well positioned for development, the pair wanted to see how data center growth might play out in greater Minnesota.<\/p>\n

They incorporated factors such as distance to power lines and water, land use and slope to identify favorable development areas. They also used census data to assess household characteristics including poverty, renter status, age and race.<\/p>\n

Their findings showed that the most suitable areas were often in city centers with higher social vulnerability, while rural areas sometimes provided lower-vulnerability options \u2014 insights that could help guide more equitable development.<\/p>\n

\u201cMapping and GIS skills are central to environmental science and conservation,\u201d says Poncius. \u201cThese tools help connect ecological data with social and community information. They allow us to create clear visual explanations and interpretations of climate change, environmental pressures, and human impacts.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Protecting cougar populations through wildlife crossings<\/h3>\n

Juniors Finn Patenaude and Swasthika Selvakumar focused their project on wildlife conservation, mapping optimal sites for wildlife crossings that could help protect two isolated North American cougar populations threatened by human activity. Their analysis centered on two parks where vehicle collisions are common \u2014 Black Hills National Forest and Big Cypress National Preserve \u2014 and combines variables such as road presence, cougar mortality, and land use\/land cover to identify viable crossing locations. Using Google Earth, they identified 12 crossing sites across both parks that already exist, suggesting that their methodology and selected variables are aligned with real-world infrastructure planning and conservation efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe combination of complex pieces of data across geographical space gives us a rare perspective that makes difficult questions legible, approachable and provides genuinely applicable solutions,\u201d says Patenaude.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Mapping skills that matter to employers<\/h3>\n
\"\"
For the first time, UWL\u2019s Geography & Environmental Science Department hosted a reverse career fair \u2014 an event where employers visit students at their project displays, rather than students circulating to meet employers.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For students, presenting at the reverse career fair allowed them to discuss topics they care about and show how GIS can turn complicated data into practical solutions.<\/p>\n

The event also gave employers a firsthand look at both the technical abilities students are building \u2014 such as ArcGIS Pro proficiency \u2014 and the essential skills they are practicing, including teamwork, communication and presenting information clearly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a chance to show that we can move from classroom knowledge to applied work \u2014 identifying a research question, gathering and analyzing data, and communicating results in a meaningful way,\u201d says Poncius. \u201cThe experience helps build local connections and gives employers a sense of how I would contribute in a professional setting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Written by UW-La Crosse University Marketing & Communications<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/mapping-what-matters\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Making a map isn\u2019t just about marking locations on the Earth \u2014 it\u2019s about uncovering the stories behind data and patterns that can ultimately help communities make informed decisions. This semester,\u00a0UWL geography and environmental science\u00a0students did exactly that. Through their Geographic Information Systems (GIS) coursework, they created maps that tackle real-world issues ranging from wildlife […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":13259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-13253","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13253"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}