GIS Presentation
11/4/04

Northwest Mississippi Community College Director of Workforce Planning and Development Joyce Brasell, along with three community partners, presented a workshop session at the second annual Gulf Coast Geospatial Conference Oct. 20-22 in Biloxi.

Brasell, a Batesville resident, was joined by Batesville Fire Chief Tim Taylor, Batesville Fire Department trainer Chris Olsen, and certified Geographic Information Systems (GIS) professional Sam Russell of DeSoto County.

They shared information about the path Northwest is taking to prepare students for high-tech jobs using GIS technology.

"Our current focus is to build geospatial concepts at the K-12 level, to train First Responders in the technology, and to prepare our college students for jobs in one of the nationally targeted high-growth technology areas," Brasell said.

A notable objective of the project is to help First Responders and teachers formulate and design useful student GIS projects relevant to local 911 emergency services operations.

Taylor and Olsen are enrolled in Northwest¹s three-hour Fundamentals of GIS course this fall, while Russell is the first certified GIS professional in Mississippi.

Russell also supports Northwest's GIS program by serving as a mentor as well as the president of the northern region of the Mississippi Association for Spatial Technology.