K-STATE-SALINA STUDENT SELECTED FOR NOAA GOVERNMENT INTERNSHIP When Russ Essman saw an internship opportunity that would enable him to make a difference, he couldn’t resist applying. Little did the student at Kansas State University-Salina know at the time that his hands-on experience with geographic information systems (GIS), combined with a background in aviation, would pay off like they did. Essman, a native of Oskaloosa, earned his associate degree in 2002 in airway science, professional pilot option. After seeing the tightening job market for professional pilots, he opted to stay at K-State at Salina a little longer to pursue a degree in technology management. Regardless of his degree, Essman wanted to find a certain career fit. “ What interests me most about a career is finding one in which the opportunity to make an impact locally or on a wider scale exists,” Essman said. “I can accomplish that by being a part of NOAA and the hydrographic survey division.” Essman was selected to work for a full year in the hydrographic survey division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As a hydrographic shipwreck survey associate, he will research surveys previously done on navigational hazards. This information will be entered into a database to be used for mapping possible survey sites and supporting the division’s Internet site. “ The projects I will be involved in will be the planning, acquiring and processing of hydrographic survey data,” Essman said. “I could spend up to ten weeks out of the year at sea doing this.” Essman said that his hands-on work with the GIS and geographic positioning systems (GPS) helped to strengthen his application. A big part of this opportunity came with a project that partnered K-State-Salina students with engineers in the city and county. “ (We worked) to locate, recover, GPS and map section corners within Saline County,” Essman said. “We experienced field work and office time, which gave us the importance of understanding most all facets of a project.” Students also had other numerous “real-world” projects for students to participate in, Essman added. “ The luxury of choosing from the abundance of projects many businesses within Salina and the city departments brought before us to aid them in was essential to my background experience.” Apart from his experience in GIS, Essman’s aviation background was just one more thing that set him apart from the competition. “ The aviation background I have has not only taught me the importance of navigation by charts and maps, but by being a certified flight instructor I learned many character traits about myself that will come in very handy when assisting or possibly leading a research team in the future.” Essman is the son of Bryan and Janet Essman, Oskaloosa. |