MONMOUTH, Ill. — Emily Zvolanek, a 2006 graduate of Monmouth College, has been selected to receive one of the Outstanding Student Awards from the Illinois Geographic Information Systems Association (ILGISA). She will receive the award at the organization’s annual spring conference on April 22 in Springfield.

No more than five such awards are presented each year to students of any major who have included GIS in their course of study and who have demonstrated exemplary proficiency and understanding of GIS and offer potential contribution to the GIS community.

Zvolanek’s contribution is more than "potential," as she is currently employed by the Chicago suburb of Burr Ridge as its GIS expert. One of that city’s engineers, David Pressig, contacted MC professor Chris Fasano and suggested that he nominate Zvolanek for the award. Pressig also contributed a strong letter of support for her.

GIS is the common name for any system for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes that are spatially referenced to Earth. It’s a tool that allows users to create interactive queries, analyze the spatial information, edit data, create maps and present the results of those operations. An example application of GIS might be creating maps that show the location of the occurrences of specific types of disease or injury within a certain geographic area.

After completing her degree in environmental science at Monmouth, Zvolankek stayed on campus as one of the first participants in Monmouth’s post-baccalaureate program. Post-baccalaureate students stay at MC for an additional year and work on a project of their choice with an adviser.

"She learned, very independently, and came to master both our latest copies of ArcView as well as our new, high-precision GPS unit," said Fasano, who was her adviser. "Her ability to learn and work with minimal supervision was incredibly impressive. She taught me and other students what she learned in a number of talks that she organized and gave."

Zvolanek spent part of her extra year helping the city of Monmouth get some of its GIS projects up and running, including research into a possible Rails to Trails project.

Besides her work for the city, her work for the college figures to have an impact for years to come.

"Much of the year I spent learning how to use the software and technology, then writing mini-manuals on the Moodle GIS site for how to use the GPS unit," she said. "I created a basic map so people interested in GIS at Monmouth can have a quick reference system to use instead of the thick manuals and trial-and-error system I used."

"She documented her work so well that her documentation is the place that new students start when they are interested in GIS," praised Fasano. "Quite honestly, I, too, would be lost without this excellent documentation. She learned, documented and, quite literally, moved GIS from a novelty to a real, viable entity on our campus."

Zvolanek’s focus in Burr Ridge has been in the public works department, she explained.

"Over the course of the past few years the department has had different people record the points of the water main and storm and sanitary sewers, including all the manholes, fire hydrants, etc. My job has been to compile that data, input any missing data and create updated maps of the water system."

Zvolanek, who is currently taking classes for her GIS certification, also reports that she is working on a map of Burr Ridge’s storm sewer system that the Environmental Protection Agency requires by law.

"The village has had the beginnings of a GIS for several years, but now it is really getting off the ground," she said.

Thanks to her undergraduate and postgraduate experiences at Monmouth, Zvolanek’s career is getting off the ground, as well.