Hi everyone! Sophie with Esri Support Services here to relive my glory days.

I came to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2019 as a Business Major but changed to a Geography Major by the time my freshman year fall semester started. From there my college career was filled with one lucky happenstance after another. I originally enrolled in a GIS course after my best friend (shoutout Merritt) told me about how wonderful the GIS professor, Michael Camponovo, was as an instructor. I ended up minoring in Chinese at UT on a lark as well – only because the Chinese professors had the highest reviews on Rate My Professor (they’re wonderful, the good reviews are true!). UT kept putting these wonderful things in my path, and all I had to do was trust my instincts and put in the effort!

One of these wonderful things that UT (or more specifically, Michael Camponovo) put in my path was an internship at Esri Education & Support Services. I applied and was pleasantly surprised to be offered an internship at the Esri Redlands Headquarters the summer of my graduation. One week before my graduation ceremony I moved out to Redlands.

My summer at Esri was one of the best summers of my life. I got to do so many fun things with the amazing people I met on the internship – everything from walking a marathon along the LA Beach Cities with my friends, to jumping in the San Diego ocean at 12am with my friends after the UC, to seeing an ultra-rare meteor shower at Joshua Tree National Park. Of course, I did some working too, and got to learn so many things about Esri and GIS as a whole. At the end of the summer I got invited back to work full-time, which I’ve been happily doing since the fall after I graduated.

Since starting full-time, I’ve been able to move back to the Esri Charlotte office to be closer to family, and I can truly (and cheesily) say that I look forward to going to work everyday. I get to work with some of the best people I know and spend literally every second of the day learning new things. I’ve also gotten to undertake professional and technical development that I’m truly grateful for – I’m already interviewing candidates, participating in holistic testing for new technologies, triaging ArcGIS Online release issues, and am now confident in technologies I’d never even seen two years ago.

So, to recap, trust the process and listen to your professors! Try not to doubt yourself and make sure that you go for opportunities as they develop. Enjoy where you’re at and be excited for what’s to come! If you ever want to chat about anything (career development, music, running) please reach out!