A GEOINT Education

After obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Brigham Young University with an emphasis in geospatial technologies, Grayson Morgan, a 2020 USGIF scholarship recipient, moved his family to South Carolina (SC) in pursuit of a master’s degree with the same emphasis.

“Receiving this USGIF award was an amazing blessing to me and my family. As a father of two, with a sweet wife who supports me not only through a master’s degree, but also as I begin a doctorate degree in remote sensing this fall, every penny makes a world of difference,” said Morgan.

Since beginning his master’s degree, Morgan worked to better understand the use of sUAS technologies to detect change in coastal SC. His other research areas include modeling biomass and understanding temporal trends of coastal marsh vegetation using remote sensing techniques.

In 2018, Morgan worked at the Beaufort County School District, SC, as a GIS intern where he created maps, fact-checked rooms and other information at schools, and worked on developing a new web GIS for the facilities department. Later in 2019, he was brought on as a GIS intern at the Electric Cooperatives of SC to analyze and process geospatial data where he remains an intern today.

“I love geography and geospatial intelligence. I also strive to help others with the skills I am working to develop. This scholarship is an important contribution that helps me support my family while pursuing my dream to serve others,” said Morgan.

Feature image: UAV-captured aerial image of the morning tide at Hunting Island Beach in Beaufort, South Carolina.

This year’s EdGEOcation Giving Fund at USGIF will directly support the 2021 USGIF Scholarship Program.

Your donation will contribute to:

• Ten (10) $1,000 scholarships to high school students for a total of $10,000;
• Twenty (20) $3,000 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate, and doctoral students for a total of $60,000.

To further the advancement of the geospatial tradecraft, USGIF is dedicated to assisting promising students studying GEOINT, geospatial sciences and related fields. The annual USGIF Scholarship Program recognizes the achievements of graduating high school seniors, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. USGIF has awarded $1.4 million in scholarships since launching the program in 2004.

To learn more about the EdGEOcation Giving Fund and how to donate, visit usgif.org/donate.