Hart receives WLIA Damon Anderson Scholarship award

GREEN BAY — Sturgeon Bay’s Jennifer Hart, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, was awarded the Wisconsin Land Information Association (WLIA) Damon Anderson Memorial Scholarship.

WLIA established the Damon Anderson Memorial Scholarship Fund to help students working toward a degree related to land information. Hart is an education major, with a minor in geography.

The $1,000 scholarship, distributed by the WLIA Board of Directors, includes a one-year Association membership and free registration to the WLIA 2009 annual conference.

UW-Green Bay Prof. Bill Niedzwiedz, Public and Environment Affairs, has worked closely with Hart on various projects, including one that played a part in her receiving the Damon Anderson Memorial Scholarship. Hart joined with fellow classmate, Matthew Bergeon to create the first-ever Brown County bicycle map.

The map turned into an independent study project that would not only benefit Hart and Bergeon, but trail users in Brown County. The map emphasizes alternative forms of on-street transportation and recreation and identifies existing bicycle lanes and preferred routes that retain continuous routes when bicycle lanes are not available.

Niedzwiedz said Hart got the award because her application stood out, noting that she had not only worked on the bike project, but also played a vital role with the UW-Green Bay nursing program developing a learning module on health.

Hart plans on teaching her future students about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) because she feels that it’s important that students learn more about geography and mapping at a young age.

“She is such an innovative person,” Niedzwiedz said of Hart. “Whatever kids end up having Jen as a teacher will be very lucky, with or without GIS.”

(Editor’s Note: A related article about the Brown County bicycle map project can be viewed at: https://news.uwgb.edu/index.php/featured/leading-learning/09/11/brown-county-bicycle-map/)

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