Welcoming our latest Brand Ambassador Carolyn Sotvall who is covering the Greater Seattle area, Washington, USA:

Requirements to be a Surveyor

1. Land Surveyor-in-Training certificate (LSIT): 4 years of experience through board approved education; board approved practical experience or a combination of both
   2. Principles and Practices of Land Surveying (PLS) exam
   3. Have 8 years of professional-level experience under the direct supervision of a licensed land surveyor. Education in an ABET-accredited program may count for up to 4 years of this experience.

How long have you been in the industry?

6 years

How did you get into surveying?

As an apprentice carpenter I was hired and trained by party chiefs at JTM Construction. We perform horizontal and vertical control on our projects using a localized grid tied into property line that correlates to the state plane monumentation used to break down the boundary. We are invested in construction technology including scanning services and AR-VR-Mixed reality solutions. Our internal survey department supports general construction efforts in addition to as built point cloud collection and deliverables for independent contracts. While we are not land surveyors, we are invested in providing opportunities for youth in construction.Edit How did you get into surveying?

Why are you volunteering?

I want kids to know about the opportunities that I missed out on in my youth. I graduated from university and I am still paying off my student loans. I was told that college was the only answer. There are so many more options, particularly for individuals who might not learn in the traditional way.

Why is GKiS important?

We need to teach young people so that we can retire someday. It is our responsibility to pass on the knowledge and skills we have acquired through our own training and experience.

BA plans

I will participate in any way I can. I hope to engage in job fairs, presentations and classroom activities. I would love to bring our tools into the classroom to give kids hands on experience with robotics and laser scanners.

What are your hobbies?

I love the outdoors. I like to hike, ride my bike, I go snowboarding in the winter and paddle boarding in the summer. I love my region because of the biodiversity here. We have mountains and sound, so many opportunities to engage with the natural environment.

GKiS character ideas

James the kid. An incredibly intelligent 6th grader who finds solutions through laser scanning and loves to help his friends learn about construction technology. He is a trailblazer, he can fix anything, he learns how to use tools through good judgement and experimentation. He is fearless, determined and kind and he is a natural born leader.

GKiS resources

Scavenger hunt

Anything else:

I love the Get Kids Into Survey initiative. I would like to contribute to the team by diversifying what is offered. Survey work in construction is now mainstream and there are so many opportunities outside of land surveying.

Meet our latest Brand Ambassador Genique Kemp who is representing the Bahamas! Let’s learn more about her:

Where did you study? East Tennessee State University- BS Surveying and Mapping Science 

Louisiana State University-Shreveport- MBA Project Management Specialization

What are the requirements to be a surveyor in your area? Degree/Diploma in Surveying, 2 years pupillage under a licensed surveyor, 

How did you get into surveying? My first summer job at 16 was at my uncles surveying firm. I have been working there ever since.

How long have you been in the industry? 15 years full time.

Are you part of any associations or organisations you would like us to mention? Bahamas Association of Land Surveyors

Why are you volunteering as a GKiS Brand Ambassador? I understand the importance of sparking interest at a young age to inspire the next generation of surveyors and geospatial professionals. The Bahamas, like most other countries are seeing a shortage of surveyors. In order to meet the demand, we have to do our part. 

Why is it important for kids to know about surveying and the wider geospatial industry? I think its important to expose them to geospatial careers so they can know the vast options and opportunities out there. Whether they chose a geospatial career or not, its important they know that the option exists.

What are you going to do as an ambassador for GKiS? Attend schools/classes and career fairs.

What are your hobbies outside of work? Tennis and singing

If you/your company had a GKiS character, what would it be? The Island Surveyor. The Bahamas is an archipelago made up of 700 islands and cays. We provide surveying services all across the island chains with no island being too secluded to survey.

What resource would you like to see next from GKiS? Perhaps GeoSquad stickers/buttons/pins to give out after presentations.

Introducing our longstanding sponsor Topcon!

“Hi, I’m Yumi, the Wild Cat Ninja from Topcon. I’m very excited to get kids into Survey and Civil Engineering…”

Company Name: Topcon Positioning Systems

Location: We are a global company with origins in Japan. Our positioning headquarters are in Livermore, California, which is located just east of the San Francisco Bay.

Why is it important for your company to help Get Kids into Survey?  We’re excited to help Get Kids into Survey. Surveying is like a fun adventure that includes cool science, tech, engineering, and math. Learning about it helps you understand how things are arranged in space, includes awesome technology, and gets you ready for jobs and important skills in the future. It’s like a big, fun learning journey for all the kids involved! 

What do you do? Our team, called Topcon Positioning Systems, makes really cool technology and tools that support people who build things and grow food. We want to help the world by making sure the surveyors, builders, and farmers have the best tools to do their jobs. With our tools, they can do their jobs easier and faster. 

Using our tools, a surveyor can stand in a field and figure out all the details about the land. They measure the length, width, and even the slopes of the land. It’s like making a giant blueprint that shows exactly how the land looks. They help other people know exactly where things should go, like where to build houses, roads, or even where to plant crops. Surveying is like creating a special map that guides everyone on how to use the land in the best way possible!

We also have products that use the information the surveyors gather to automatically control construction and agriculture machinery like bulldozers, excavators, and tractors. This helps those machines perform their tasks so precisely they can get to within a millimeter of their plans.

How long have you been in the survey industry? Our company, Topcon, has been around for over 90 years! We started in Japan in 1932, making surveying and optical equipment, including binoculars and cameras. As we grew, we opened offices around the world and focused more on the surveying equipment and eye exam equipment on the optical side. Starting around 1990, we expanded the surveying side of our business to include technology for construction and agriculture.

How did you end up getting into the geospatial industry? I got interested in protecting my kind because we were in danger. The place where we live was getting ruined, and it was putting us at risk of disappearing. I want to help make the world a better place for everybody, including wild cats. 

Land surveyors play an important role in supporting the environment by providing correct information about the land and everything on it. By knowing all the details about the land and its features, like where the hills are or where the rivers flow, land surveyors help others make smart choices to keep our planet healthy.

Surveying uses positioning, and cats are born with a keen sense of position. Like how we consistently land on our feet, we always like to be aware of our exact location at all times. So, being able to work in the geospatial industry was a purrrfect fit for me.

State a funny fact about you… I’m named after a famous ninja who possessed amazing archery skills. My name means “bow” as in bow and arrow. Ninjas are known to be most efficient in doing their work.

Even though I don’t shoot arrows or sneak around like a ninja, I like to think I’ve got my own set of skills. Cats are known for being pretty nimble and quick, just like ninjas! I bring a bit of those ninja-like talents into my daily adventures. After all, a cat named after a ninja has to live up to a little bit of that legendary reputation, right?

Favourite piece of kit and why? I like anything that uses GNSS since I always like to know where I am. GNSS means Global Navigation Satellite Systems, and it uses signals from satellites to determine your location on Earth accurately. It’s very similar to GPS (Global Positioning System), which you might know from your family cars or cell phones. GPS uses a group of satellites to tell you exactly where you are. GNSS uses GPS along with an even bigger group. It’s like a family of different satellite systems from around the world, not just the GPS one. There are others, like GLONASS from Russia, Galileo from Europe, and BeiDou from China. They all work together to help you know where you are, no matter where you are on Earth. And since GNSS uses even more than just satellites, it’s more accurate and reliable.

Whether they’re measuring land, building things, or growing crops, our customers rely on our tools that use GNSS to work faster and get things done really well! 

Favourite Survey technique and why? Laser scanning. It’s like a super-fast camera that can capture thousands of points every second. This is really helpful because it means the scanner can collect lots of information quickly, even if it needs to scan a big area. So, if you want to gather data about a large place, like a park or a building, the laser scanner can do it quickly and easily. And, as you might know, cats LOVE lasers. 

Remember to check out our Homework Project, The Road To Success! Available to print out for free on GKiS Resources Page.

Welcoming Joseph Pannel to the Brand Ambassador family, who is covering the Southeast US region, specifically Mississippi:

Where did you study? On the job experience.

Introducing our latest Brand Ambassador Jack Edwards from Birmingham, UK:

Where did you study? I initially was taught on the job but have since attended The Survey School as apart of their TSA course.

Introducing our latest sponsors the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering at the University of Ljubljana! We are super thankful to the team here who have helped to translate 2 of the geospatial posters (with Q&A sheets) into Slovenian, ready to print and distribute around Slovenia.

Let’s learn some more about them:

 1. Company Name –

Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana

2. Location –

Ljubljana, Slovenia

3. How did you choose the character and what does he/she/it represent? Mean to you? What’s his/her name?

I am hen Slavi. In shape, I resemble the outline of our country, Slovenia, with the head on the left and Slovenia on the right. I use high-quality personal protective equipment to ensure the safety and health of employees. Primarily, I assist geodesists and builders from the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering at the University of Ljubljana in building a sustainable future.

4. Why is it important for your company to help Get Kids into Survey?

Our faculty is the only one in Slovenia offering study programs in geodesy and geoinformatics. We aim to attract more students to these programs because we believe that too many children are unaware of this profession and its fascinating nature.

5. What do you do?

Our primary activity is educating students to become professional geodesists with university qualifications. However, we also engage in other enjoyable activities. We research and test new methods in measuring and presenting spatial data, conduct field measurements of challenging engineering structures such as tunnels and large hydroelectric power plants, and organize excursions worldwide with students to learn new things.

6. How long have you been in the survey industry?

The University of Ljubljana was founded over 100 years ago in 1919. From the beginning, alongside the legal, philosophical, medical, and theological faculties, it had a technical faculty where geodesy was taught.

7. How did you end up getting into the geospatial industry?

Geodesy is one of the oldest sciences globally, with ancient Greek mathematicians already involved in calculating the size and shape of the Earth. Geodesy has been a major discipline taught at the University of Ljubljana since its establishment.

8. State a funny fact about you…

When Yugoslavia dissolved in 1991 and a new country, Slovenia, was formed, they decided its shape would be that of a hen, just like me: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Slovenija/ The last leg touches the sea, the tail features beautiful mountains, and the head lies in the Pannonian Plains.

9. Favourite piece of kit and why?

My favourite tool is the level. It’s the simplest of geodetic instruments but allows for the most precise measurements of height differences. With it, I can determine the elevations of mountain peaks or measure where a river has enough drop for a new hydroelectric power plant.

10. Favourite Survey technique and why?

Of all geodetic measurements, I enjoy working with drones the most. From aerial photographs, I can create beautiful 3D representations of historical objects or assist builders during excavations, foresters in measuring forest growth, and geodesists in drawing new maps.

11. Your website.

The return of our cartoon stickers!

We have many compliments about our cartoon character stickers. As you probably know, when a company sponsor one our geospatial themed posters, they receive a custom character with their branding on. Some of our long standing Brand Ambassadors are lucky enough to have their own characters too!

(you can learn all about the different cartoon characters on our ‘Character Spotlight’ blogs here)

Here is a little selection of the stickers we have left in stock… speaking of which *runs to computer and quickly orders some more custom stickers from Sticker Mule*!!!

If any of our Brand Ambassadors or sponsors wish to print some stickers of their own we are happy to give you the cartoon file for you to order through Sticker Mule. We know it’s good quality and meets our high standards* 🙂 then you can give out stickers to promote surveying… lets get them out far and wide eee!

*Please read through our Brand Guidelines before purchasing, to make sure you are aware of our standards and rules regarding our cartoons/branding. Many thanks.

Introducing Wood Rodgers our latest sponsor of two re-prints for the West Coast!

Company Name: Wood Rodgers, Inc.

Location: 9 locations throughout Nevada and California

Why is it important for your company to help Get Kids into Survey? Land Surveyors have not done a great job in the past of mentoring young professionals, promoting growth within the profession, or providing public outreach. Get Kids into Survey is now the best, most visible resource we have for promoting the profession.

What do you do? Wood Rodgers is a multidisciplinary firm with experience in a wide range of technical areas which includes Surveying and Mapping, Right-of-Way Surveying, Aerial Mapping (LiDAR & Photogrammetry), Engineering Surveying, Mine Surveying, and Construction Surveying.

How long have you been in the survey industry? Wood Rodgers had been providing civil engineering and surveying services for over 27 years.

How did you end up getting into the geospatial industry? Wood Rodgers wanted to be a one stop shop for services and surveying is a huge technical aspect to help the company providing seamless services to our clients.

Favorite piece of kit and why? Levels, total station, GPS, scanner, drone… whatever the right tool is for the job!

Favorite Survey technique and why? Anything that creates a point cloud, it just never gets old looking at them!

Your website: www.woodrodgers.com

How did you choose the character and what does he/she/it represent? Mean to you? What’s his/her name? The character we chose represents one of our company founders, Rich Wood. Rich was instrumental in creating a company that provides unmatched client service, while encouraging and emphasizing an entrepreneurial atmosphere. With this culture, Wood Rodgers has been able to attract and retain highly talented, experienced, and hardworking professionals due to our commitment of encouraging staff according to their efforts and providing an employee-focused environment.