Completing my PhD in geography at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville was an incredible experience. Four years of training and mentorship from our world-class faculty challenged me to grow both as a person and as a scientist. My research at UT was focused on the location strategies of American grocery chains. I was empowered to design a research program and curriculum that built really organically off my previous experience in the grocery industry, and served as a launchpad for me to return to it after graduation. I now work for Meijer, a regional community-oriented grocer operating 270 supercenters across six states in the Midwest. As a geographer, I am responsible for all of the analytics that support our organization’s short- and long-term location strategy, including: site selection, sales forecasting, and market densification. Recently, my work has fueled our planned expansion into a new state. We are so excited to bring Meijer to Pennsylvania!