Regional SCAUG Scholarships

In an effort to foster the upcoming generations of GIS professionals in the region, SCAUG offers several scholarship opportunities. Without this renewing resource of fresh ideas and talented minds the ever changing field of GIS as we know it would cease to exist. It is for this reason SCAUG is helping build the future of our professional diversity one student at a time.

Download Regional 2025 SCAUG Scholarship Application Form

Goals

• encourage the goals of students and professionals who are working toward their undergraduate or graduate degree in a geospatial science.
• promote and support the increase of knowledge and proficiency of geospatial sciences in the south central region.
• recognize and encourage scholastic and professional accomplishments in the geospatial sciences.

Funding

The SCAUG Collaborative Scholarship is funded by the SCAUG annual events and contributions from the private community.

If you are interested in contributing to one of the Scholarship Funds, please visit the Scholarship Contributions page.

Regional Scholarship Benefits

• $1,500 applied directly to their university account to offset educational expenses.
  
• Complimentary registration to the upcoming Regional SCAUG conference.

How will the recipients be selected?

The scholarship recipients will be selected by the SCAUG officers. Selection will be based on merit and meeting eligibility requirements as outlined in the application. Scholarships will only be awarded if applicants deemed worthy by the SCAUG officers.

Scholarships will be presented to recipients at their respective educational institutions. If possible, a SCAUG representative will present the scholarship. An announcement of the scholarship winners will also be made at the main session of the corresponding conference of their complimentary registration.
        

Eligibility

• Applicant must be a registered student, in good standing, in a recognized university, community college, or technical institute in the SCAUG region.
• Applicant must be enrolled in a course of study in the field of geospatial sciences for the current and upcoming semester (not graduating the semester or the semester directly following the receipt of the scholarship award).
• Applicant may not be a past recipient.

How do I apply?

 Download Regional 2025 SCAUG Scholarship Application Form

Past Winners

2024 Regional Scholarship Winners

SCAUG Collaborative Scholarship Winner - Abby Curry, Oklahoma State University

Abby is an undergraduate Geography major at Oklahoma State University. She has worked as a research assistant doing undergraduate research and outreach on the Ogallala Aquifer and farmers’ adaptations to drought in the High Plains region, and she is currently interning as a geospatial technician. She plans to go to graduate school for a masters in Geography and wants to help communities navigate the environmental challenges caused by climate change.

SCAUG Collaborative Scholarship Winner - Ehsan Foroutan, Oklahoma State University

Ehsan Foroutan is a PhD student in geospatial science at the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in surveying engineering in 2009 from the University of Isfahan, Iran and obtained his master’s degree in GIS in 2012 from the University of Tehran, Iran. Prior to joining OSU, he worked as a GIS expert and Geodatabase administrator in the GIS Department of Isfahan Municipality. He is a licensed land surveyor in Iran and has served as a surveying engineer in numerous cadastral and construction projects. His doctoral research focuses on the application of geospatial big data analytics and GeoAI in population and environmental health. His current research aims to leverage multi-source geospatial big data, such as satellite imagery, street view images, smartphone user mobility, social media check-in data, and machine learning algorithms to address heat vulnerability in the context of climate change. To date, he has published two papers in notable GIS journals, such as Transactions in GIS and International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (forthcoming). Additionally, he was awarded first place in the Best Graduate Poster Competition at the 2023 Southwest Division of the American Association of Geographers (SWAAG) Annual Meeting in Laredo, Texas.

2023 Regional Scholarship Winners

SCAUG Collaborative Scholarship Winner - Grayson Wylie

Grayson Wylie is a graduate student at Texas State University. His research direction is in remote sensing and GIS, with a concentration on natural resources. Grayson has been studying GIS through two degrees at Louisiana Tech and Texas A&M while working in field for several years in between. Grayson spends his time outside of study at the river in San Marcos, worrying about how the emails are piling up.

SCAUG Memorial Scholarship Winner - Emily Waterman

I am an Environmental Specialist with an expertise in geospatial analysis, which allows me to identify ecological conditions in places that would be impractical to study in situ. I am a mother of two and have a varied background of experience that includes serving in the Army, years of customer service, professional report writing, and scientific field data collection.  One of my lifelong passions has been contributing to environmental sustainability, which I have done so through stream and forest restoration efforts, environmental soil and water and quality data collection, and land use identification. I hope to continue using my skills in GIS to further protect the planet and provide a prosperous future for humanity.

2022 Regional Scholarship Winners

Undergraduate Winner:  Jackie Harsha, Oklahoma State University

Jackie Harsha is a Junior at Oklahoma State University majoring in GSIS and Spanish. She is also a member of the AFROTC, and will commission as an officer after she graduates in May 2023. Her dream is to be a Space Force Officer and work with satellites and GPS. Jackie also enjoys working at the Wesley Foundation at OSU, and doing honor guard details at OSU football games. She interned in the summer of 2021 with the Civil Air Patrol, to help develop a training program for volunteers to collect GIS data for FEMA after natural disasters. Her favorite part of GSIS is how intricate the software is to be able to analyze such large data packages."

Graduate Winner:  Brice Zoungrana, Oklahoma State University

Brice Zoungrana is a doctoral student in geography at Oklahoma State University. He is originally from Burkina Faso and graduated from South Dakota State University in 2020 with a Master’s Degree in Geography with a specialization in GIS. HIs career goal is to work with low-incomepeople and develop sustainable ways of living to positively impact their lives.His research project uses geographic ideas, GIS, and remote sensing methods to address a sustainable farmer initiative called Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR).He is fluent in French and Moore, a native Burkina language.