Meet Emily Heizer
Emily Heizer collecting locational data using an RTK surveying unit. For example, she collected data for things like waterbody locations, groundwater well locations, trees, wildlife and/or monitoring location etc. This is a crucial part to her role as a GIS Analyst as the data I collect can be used to conduct further analysis.
Emily, currently employed as a GIS Analyst at Dougan & Associates, holds a diploma in Outdoor and Adventure Education, a diploma in Ecosystem Management Technician, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems, all from Fleming College.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Emily enjoys sewing, running, camping, and baking/cooking.
A fun fact about Emily and her current role: “I love my current position as a GIS Analyst. I not only get to work a variety of different projects, I also get to help develop new workflows and methods to help our team automate tasks through the use of coding. Additionally, working for an environmental company, I'm also able to assist and apply my environmental background by assisting with in-person field programs to collect data at project sites across Ontario.”
When did your love of STEM begin?
I first became interested in STEM during one of my very first college classes. During this course I was introduced to photogrammetry. This was all new to me and I immediately went home and googled everything I could find on photogrammetry and any related careers. That's when I came across GIS. It was a whole new world of opportunities that I didn't know existed. After that moment, I decided that this was my path and I wanted to learn everything I could about GIS.
What is the best part about working in the field of STEM?
The best part about working in STEM is there is always something new to learn. STEM is always growing, and always changing. There's endless possibilities.
What advice would you give young women interested in a career in STEM?
Don't doubt yourself before you give yourself a chance. A career in STEM may be intimidating but that doesn't mean you can't achieve it. For example, in college I was horrible at python coding. It fascinated me but I never understood it so I felt like it was just something that was out of reach for me. I eventually had to use it in one of my past jobs and because of this, something clicked. I now love to code and use python any chance I get.