Cassandra Michel
I attended Carleton for both my BA Honours in Geography and my MSc in Geography, which I completed in 2017. I chose to continue my education at Carleton in large part because of the excellent work of the geography department and the sense of community offered by its staff and students.
The practicum program is also an extremely valuable part of the geography program, as it offers students an opportunity to gain real world experience and create valuable connections. I have always been interested in water resources, so I decided to do my practicum with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. During my practicum project, I was able to get acquainted with my supervisor and get a job with the organization after I graduated. My master thesis research project was a collaborative project with the conservation authority, which focused on understanding groundwater and surface water dynamics in a local rural watershed.
While at Carleton, I had the opportunity to take specialized courses, like the Catchment Science Summer School at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, UK and the undergraduate 4th year winter field course. I was also able and encouraged to present my research at conferences such as the Canadian Geophysical Union, the Canadian Geophysical Union-Hydrology section, the Latornell Conservation Symposium and the Canadian Water Resources.
Currently, I am working as a planning analyst for the National Hydrological Service, which is a directorate of Environment Climate Change Canada. I owe a lot of my success to the support, connections and knowledge I gained through my time at Carleton in the Geography department. The professors, instructors, technicians and administrative staff all work to foster a positive and collaborative environment and actively engage with the students. I loved my time spent at Carleton and would recommend it to anyone who is considering attending.