New Graduate Students Profiles
Jay Jensen (Master’s Student)
Hello everyone, my name is Jay Jensen, and I am very excited to be a UWM graduate student pursuing my MS in Geography specifically through the GIS track. I received a BS in Conservation and Environmental Science while obtaining a minor in Biological Science here at UWM. I also just completed the GIS certificate here last semester and will continue my studies in that field. A fun fact about me is that I swam competitively on the Division-1 Swim & Dive here in Milwaukee for five years!
My most recent work experience was with the Electa Quinney Institute here at UWM alongside the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District as a land management intern. Throughout this internship we completed a variety of field work tasks including tending to invasive species, planting natives, and creating trails. On top of those tasks, we researched indigenous methodology and furthermore, how to incorporate those ideologies into the physical work we performed in the field. By listening, connecting, and forming relationships with the land at the sites we worked on, we gained a larger understanding of what the land wants to be and could do our best to help guide it that way. Using concepts of Community Geography and Countermapping, we allowed fellow interns to create a communal collection of maps that represented the relationships formed with the land over the course of the internship.
I would like to continue to research and explore options of using GIS as a platform for engagement that would allow for the expression of unique geographical ideologies within differentiating communities. I am very excited and thankful to be a part of the wonderful Geography department here!
Julianna Weege (Master’s Student)
Hello all, I’m Julianna, and I am excited to start my geography MA here at UWM this semester! Prior to coming to UWM, in 2024, I earned my BA in anthropology from Colorado State University. While there, I worked for the Prison Agriculture Lab, studying how media publications portray women’s prison agriculture programs. This experience caused me to shift my career plans, and I knew geography was the way to do it.
Dr. Kristin Sziarto is my advisor, and in my time here I plan to research reproductive justice in the Milwaukee area. This is something that I’m very passionate about, because even though I moved to Colorado for my undergrad, I’m actually from here!
When I’m not in my office or at a coffee shop working, you can find me trying new pastries, looking for sea glass, and petting street cats. I look forward to developing my geographic knowledge and meeting everyone throughout my time here!