Seeing the variety of things GDIT does is really exciting. I’m not sure where I want to take my career, but I know there are a lot of options here and they’re very open to helping you move forward in your career.
Pamela joined GDIT after completing her Environmental Studies degree at Virginia Commonwealth University. A love of the environment and sustainability drew Pamela to GDIT’s work with government agencies focused on protecting the country’s resources. In her role as a Research Analyst Associate, she focuses on data quality for projects in the Great Lakes area.
Enabling environmental action through data. My team owns it.
We gather data from environmental projects in the Great Lakes area. There are programs monitoring fish, biology, the atmosphere, and even sediment. We’re focused on maintaining the quality of data being reported from the labs, making sure everything is where it’s supposed to be and that the data makes sense.
The data eventually goes into public databases so anyone can go online, download, and use it. We make sure the data is explained correctly so when it’s used by someone in a community, or a PhD working on their thesis, they know how to use what’s being reported.
How data helps a community.
There are sediment programs being conducted at superfund sites that need to be remediated, especially along waterways. The data we collect shows the impact of restoration and remediation in these areas. There is a boathouse right across the river from an area being remediated. They have a rowing program where they bring youth from impoverished areas onto the water. When the area is remediated, they’ll be able to use the river again for activities like this. These remediation programs have a community impact and an economical impact. It can definitely affect regular citizens’ lives.
A winning caption.
I participated in a GDIT company-wide competition and I won for best caption on a social post. The contest was to post a picture of yourself in front of a GDIT advertisement on LinkedIn or Twitter.
I was at the Dulles Airport and there were several GDIT advertisements so I snapped a selfie in front of an ad with a drone. At that time of the year, our computer desktop image was of a drone so my caption said “from our desktops to an airport, there is always a drone near you.”
They announced that I won during the end of a town hall meeting. I had my choice of three prizes and I chose the team event to share the win with my team. We had a party and they were really excited I shared it with them. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to thank them for everything they’ve done for me.