Education
Brian holds a bachelor's degree from South Dakota State University (SDSU), graduating with a degree in history in 2007 (minoring in biology). For his senior thesis, he wrote about the popular reactions to the defeat of General Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and how they varied geographically. It was in writing this paper that Brian began to think about geography as a future field of study.While working as the research and writing coordinator for a gubernatorial campaign in South Dakota, Brian started taking classes toward a second bachelor's degree in Global Studies. To meet the requirements, he took a population geography course from Dr. Charles Gritzner. According to Brian, it was this class that solidified the fact that his future was in geography.
Brian has always had a passion for traveling. While an undergraduate, he participated in study abroad opportunities to India and West Africa, assisted in developing the framework for a master's degree in ecotourism in Bolivia, and helped plan and facilitate a class to the Canadian sub-Arctic studying the effects of climate change on indigenous peoples. Before entering graduate school at UNL, he served for two years in the Peace Corps in Morocco as an environmental educator and ecotourism consultant.
Interests
Brian is fluent in Moroccan Arabic, speaks conversational Spanish, and would also like to learn French. When not studying or working, he enjoys spending time with his fiancée, friends, and family. He likes playing cards (Euchre), board games (Settlers of Catan), going to museums and zoos, and watching movies.From Brian
It's interesting having to answer the question, "What is geography"? Most people don't really know the answer and for Geographers, it can often be difficult to explain. Dr. Gritzner provides an excellent definition in his article on defining geography (PDF). To him, it is the science of "what is where, why there, and why care." I think that works very well.In an age of unprecedented access to information, people seem to be learning less about the world around them. Sure we need some analysis at the microscopic scale, but what about the larger, global context? How can we effectively place isolated bits of knowledge about various topics into framework for understanding how the world works? This, I believe, is the enduring mission of geography… and it's really interesting.
