This year the Association of American Geographers (AAG) annual conference in Chicago, IL promises to be a highly attended event by UW-Madison faculty, staff, and students due to its close proximity to Madison. Thanks to donations by generous alumni and friends, undergraduate students will be amongst those attending the meeting.
Recognizing the benefits these professional conferences provide to future geographers, the Geography Department has provided financial support to our undergraduate Geography Club since 2006 for conference registration and travel.
When asked how attending AAG meetings benefited them, Geography Club undergraduates had a wide variety of responses including: professional networking and finding out about job opportunities in specific fields; attending panel discussions on the realities of applying for jobs; going to presentations that gave them a new appreciation of diversity within the field of geography; seeing first-hand what geographers do in the real world; and building camaraderie among Geography Club members while on the trip. One enthusiastic student stated, “It was all geography all the time, and I loved it!”
Alumni and friends who wish to support undergraduate professional development activities like this can make a donation to our Geography Department Fund. And if you’ll be at the AAG conference in Chicago this year, say hello to some of our department’s youngest geographers!
Read undergraduate perspectives on the 2014 AAG meeting in Tampa in the Geography Club’s newsletter.
