1. What do you get when you bring
together 10 teachers, 300 high school
students, 20 volunteers, 20 Mesa
College Faculty members, all with a
desire to use the latest in GPS and
satellite technology to race to an un‐
known finish line for prizes? You get
‘The Amazing GPS Race’ and Mesa
College Faculty and Students hosted
local secondary school students and
their teachers on November 18,2009 in
a celebration of National Geography
Awareness Week and International GIS
Day.
Students were coached on the basic
uses of hand held GPS units, and used
satellite technology and clues from
math, science and the surrounding
campus environment to compete for
prizes. By entering the information
garnered at different spots around
Mesa Campus, students competed in a
virtual scavenger hunt, and the finish‐
ers were rewarded with inflatable
beach ball world globes to further
satisfy their curiosity about geog‐
raphy and their wonderful earth.
The event was held to celebrate
GIS Day, and Mesa College was
just one of hundreds of organiza‐
tions world wide that hosted
events to spread awareness of
Geographic Information Systems.
Mesa College has courses and
certificates that teach one of the
hottest technologies of the 21st
Century, GIS!
The Amazing GPS Race
GIS Day Will Return to Mesa College in 2010
Celebrated in more than 80
countries each year in con‐
junction with National
Geography Awareness
Week . Follow us on Face‐
book and Twitter for GIS
updates, career advice and
news about all things spatial!
GIS Day Coordinator
Michelle Kinzel
mkinzel@sdccd.edu
GIS Day
November 15, 2009
Geographic Information Systems
at
San Diego Mesa College
High School Students awaiting their start
time at ‘The Amazing GPS Race’
GIS Day 2009 Highlights
• The Amazing GPS Race
• GIS Day Cake a Global
Phenomenon
• Prizes for Race Finishers
• Women in GIS
Inside this issue:
The Amazing GPS
Race
1
GIS Day 2010 1
What is GIS? 2
Women in GIS 3
GIS Photo Gallery 3
Geocaching 4
Cal Women Tech 4
Students display their winnings after crossing the finish
Logo by ESRI, www.esri.com
November 17, 2010

2.
gram in San Diego County specifi‐
cally designed to prepare students
to enter the workforce as a GIS
technician. Students completing the
courses in the GIS Certificate or
Associate Degree program will have
a solid foundation of GIS concepts
as well as hands‐on experience with
GIS software by completing pro‐
jects that utilize sophisticated GIS
functions.
For more information on the Mesa
College GIS program, courses, or
career opportunities, contact Eileen
Goff, Program Coordinator, at (619)
388‐2803 or egoff@sdccd.edu. If
you wish to set up an appointment
with the Counseling Department
to discuss the GIS Program, call
(619) 388‐2672.
Mesa College offers one of the
most comprehensive GIS pro‐
grams in Southern California, in
close collaboration with San
Diego State University. The two
institutions are joint recipients
of a major National Science
Foundation grant to promote
GIS education.
Two degrees/certificates are
offered at Mesa College:
Certificate of Performance
Geographic Information
Systems Specialist
Associate in Science
Geographic Information Sys‐
tems
The Mesa College GIS program is
unique because it is the only pro‐
GIS Certificate Program at San Diego Mesa
"I feel Mesa's GIS program is prepar‐
ing me for a career in the industry.
When I started, I had no geography or
GIS experience. Instructors Kim
Mathis and Casey Cook have helped
me learn challenging software pro‐
grams, plan projects, and execute
them. I am confident that the GIS skills
I am acquiring in the program will be
useful in the real world."
‐ Ellery Armstrong, Mesa College Stu‐
dent
GIS allows us to view, understand,
question, interpret, and visualize
data in many ways that reveal rela‐
tionships, patterns, and trends in
the form of maps, globes, reports,
and charts.
A GIS helps you answer questions
and solve problems by looking at
your data in a way that is quickly
understood and easily shared.
Complex data sets and rich data‐
bases come alive with geographic
content and references when for‐
matted in a GIS. Maps allow us to
study and shape our world in new
and efficient ways.
Join the digital mapping wave!
What is GIS?

3. Women have come a long way baby,
and the 21st Century is a great time to
be a woman. Career choices and op‐
portunities have opened up in many
industries, and male dominated fields
are quickly becoming passé as women
follow passions and develop their
scientific minds, technical abilities and
intellectual capabilities. Women work
alongside men in many jobs that a few
generations ago would only have been
open to male workers. Geographic
Information Systems and GIScience is
one of the hottest trends in technol‐
ogy and one of the fastest growing
career sectors of our society.
San Diego Mesa College has teamed
up with Cal Women Tech Program, an
NSF funded grant that aims to in‐
crease recruitment and retention of
women in technical trades. Mesa
College has trained and educated
many students in this program and we
are proud of the women who repre‐
sent the academic excellence and
technical savvy offered by the GIS
Certificate Program.
Learn more about GIS as a course,
certificate or career at
Women in Geographic Information Science
Let Them Eat Cake….GIS Day Cake
Photo Gallery
Maddie Ford, a
student of Mesa
College’s Culinary
Arts contributed
her baking skills to
the GIS Day Celebra‐
tion and gave us the
Whole World (in a
tasty package)!
Page 3 Geographic Information Systems
at
Raechelle Stokes, Eileen Goff and Laurie
Edwards use GPS units on GIS Day.
San Diego Mesa alumni Debra Stein, Eman
Lee Ramos, of Sweetwater Authority and
Laurie Edwards came out to mentor
women in pursuing careers in geospatial
technologies.
Logo Courtesy of ESRI,
www.esri.com

4. Geocaching is a high‐tech
treasure hunting game
played throughout the world
by adventure seekers
equipped with GPS devices.
The basic idea is to locate
hidden containers, called
geocaches, by using satellite
technology and hand held
GPS units and then share
your experiences online.
Geocaching is enjoyed by
people from all age groups,
with a strong sense of com‐
munity and support for the
environment.
Learn more at
www.geocaching.com
School of
Business and
Computer
Technology
Phone: 619‐388‐2803
E‐mail: Eileen Goff
Program Coordinator
egoff@sdccd.edu
Find us on Facebook!
Search for the ‘San
Diego Mesa College
GIS’ fanpage.
Geocaching
GIS Program at San Diego Mesa College
Mesa College was one of eight
community colleges selected to
receive free intensive training and
assistance on recruiting and retain‐
ing women in technology programs
in which they are under‐
represented. The primary goal of
the CalWomenTech Project is to
increase the number of women
enrolled and retained in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math
(STEM) education courses and
certificate programs.
Cal Women Tech Project
The National Institute for Women in
Trades, Technology and Science
(IWITTS) was recently awarded a $2
million National Science Foundation
(NSF) Award from the program
Research on Gender in Science and
Engineering to fund the CalWomen‐
Tech Project.
Through this five‐year grant, Califor‐
nia community colleges will receive
expert support and technical assis‐
tance to help recruit and retain
women into technology programs
where they are under‐represented.
"GIS 110 was one of the
most challenging intro‐
level courses I've ever
taken. There is much
more to the ArcView
software (and GIS in
general) than I expected,
but I find it fascinating
and the possible
applications are endless.
‐ Beth McCrindle, Mesa College
Student
Page 4
The SDCCD is governed by its Board
of Trustees. No oral or written
representation is binding on the
San Diego Community College
District without the express ap‐
proval of the Board of Trustees.