Hi all! I am Jenna Mallinson, a 5th year in the Honours Earth and Environmental Sciences Co-Op program at McMaster. I am finishing up my final year and have completed my GIS Concurrent Certificate. In the past couple of years, I have completed 2 co-op terms (each 8 months), one with Environment and Climate Change Canada in the Ecological Assessment Division, and one with Definity Financial Corporation as a Junior GIS Analyst (more on this in a later blog post). Last year, I completed my undergraduate honours thesis with Dr. Darren Scott in the Transportation Research Lab, focusing on healthcare accessibility for older adults across Hamilton, and how the accessibility will be impacted by pending changes to the HSR to accommodate the upcoming LRT. For me, this thesis was also a major passion project, and I enjoyed every single step of the way.
A bit about me, I am very passionate about GIS (geographic information science/systems) and urban planning, I’ve been an avid Sims player for 14 years and counting, and I am highly interested in anything climate or weather-related. Some of my most frequented hobbies include The Sims, café hopping, journaling, playing with my cat Benji, and reading (mostly geography-based non-fiction or fantasy). If you have any café or reading recommendations, I am all ears!