{"id":2970175,"date":"2026-06-22T03:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2970175"},"modified":"2026-06-22T05:46:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:46:22","slug":"growing-a-successful-geospatial-program","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/sharing-collaboration\/growing-a-successful-geospatial-program","title":{"rendered":"Growing a successful geospatial program through dual enrollment"},"author":9422,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[430042,37511],"tags":[398132,31921,781139,781051],"industry":[],"product":[36611,380802],"class_list":["post-2970175","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-sharing-collaboration","tag-arcgis-storymaps","tag-education","tag-esriuc2026","tag-geospatial-storytelling","product-story-maps","product-arcgis-storymaps"],"acf":{"short_description":"Create a geospatial program that prepares students for real-world challenges and college courses. Learn how at Esri UC 2026. ","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Every teacher remembers that one student.<\/p>\n

And for Katherine Hahn, an Earth Science and GIS teacher at Freedom High School in Virginia, it was a senior with an impressive number of absences\u2014just counting the days until graduation.<\/p>\n

What did the future hold for him? <\/em>\u00a0Katherine had to know.<\/p>\n

The answer, it turns out, was live airport data from Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National airports. That data and a classmate, a student pilot, inspired a geospatial project that received an honorable mention in the James Madison University StoryMaps contest.<\/p>\n

For the student, a teacher\u2019s time and an innovative Geospatial Semester Program led him to Northern Virginia Community College and potentially a geospatial science degree at James Madison University. For Katherine, the power of data and geographic information systems (GIS) had come full circle.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2970231,"id":2970231,"title":"kathryn hahn collage","filename":"kathryn-hahn-collage.png","filesize":1243199,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kathryn-hahn-collage.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/sharing-collaboration\/growing-a-successful-geospatial-program\/kathryn-hahn-collage","alt":"A side by side comparison of Kathryn Hahn as a student on the left and with her own students on the right","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"Katherine Hahn, as a high school student, next to a geospatial poster (left), and Katherine, with her students, now (right). ","name":"kathryn-hahn-collage","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2970175,"date":"2026-06-15 13:10:23","modified":"2026-06-15 20:38:53","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1400,"height":800,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kathryn-hahn-collage-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kathryn-hahn-collage.png","medium-width":457,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kathryn-hahn-collage.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":439,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kathryn-hahn-collage.png","large-width":1400,"large-height":800,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kathryn-hahn-collage.png","1536x1536-width":1400,"1536x1536-height":800,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kathryn-hahn-collage.png","2048x2048-width":1400,"2048x2048-height":800,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kathryn-hahn-collage-814x465.png","card_image-width":814,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kathryn-hahn-collage.png","wide_image-width":1400,"wide_image-height":800}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Katherine participated in the Geospatial Semester Program as a junior in high school. Using ArcGIS, she mapped riparian buffers near rivers and tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay and visualized California wildfires in San Bernadino County.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","author_name":"Katherine Hahn","author_profession_organization":"","image":{"ID":2970881,"id":2970881,"title":"katherine hahn graduation","filename":"katherine-hahn-graduation-1.jpg","filesize":36566,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-graduation-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/sharing-collaboration\/growing-a-successful-geospatial-program\/katherine-hahn-graduation-2","alt":"Katherine Hahn, a GIS and Science teacher, in cap and gown at college graduation","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"katherine-hahn-graduation-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2970175,"date":"2026-06-17 11:01:54","modified":"2026-06-17 11:02:32","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":280,"height":280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-graduation-1-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-graduation-1.jpg","medium-width":261,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-graduation-1.jpg","medium_large-width":280,"medium_large-height":280,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-graduation-1.jpg","large-width":280,"large-height":280,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-graduation-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":280,"1536x1536-height":280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-graduation-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":280,"2048x2048-height":280,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-graduation-1.jpg","card_image-width":280,"card_image-height":280,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-graduation-1.jpg","wide_image-width":280,"wide_image-height":280}},"text":"I believe what left the most lasting impact on me during this program was the opportunity to travel and present our findings to symposiums or even at the Library of Congress! It truly made it feel like I was taken seriously in a professional manner that boosted my confidence as an individual and as a scientist. "},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

After high school graduation, Katherine earned an undergraduate degree in geography and GIS and Master of Science Education from Virginia Tech. Through the NASA DEVELOP program, and with ArcGIS, she worked with the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve to analyze shoreline changes using Earth Observations.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2970874,"id":2970874,"title":"katherine hahn storymap","filename":"katherine-hahn-storymap.png","filesize":771274,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-storymap.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/sharing-collaboration\/growing-a-successful-geospatial-program\/katherine-hahn-storymap","alt":"A screenshot of the cover of The Resilience and Restoration of Jobos Bay","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"Explore the story, built with ArcGIS StoryMaps, by Katherine Hahn.","name":"katherine-hahn-storymap","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2970175,"date":"2026-06-17 10:32:25","modified":"2026-06-17 10:34:08","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1426,"height":801,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-storymap-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-storymap.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-storymap.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":431,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-storymap.png","large-width":1426,"large-height":801,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-storymap.png","1536x1536-width":1426,"1536x1536-height":801,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-storymap.png","2048x2048-width":1426,"2048x2048-height":801,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-storymap-826x465.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-storymap.png","wide_image-width":1426,"wide_image-height":801}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/2508ba06063547d984f2092b3cb6150f"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

She then led an all-female team to study sediment dynamics with the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.<\/p>\n

It inspired her to give back\u2014to her community and the geospatial foundation of her career.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2970878,"id":2970878,"title":"katherine hahn and a GIS student","filename":"katherine-hahn-and-a-GIS-student-e1781693750854.jpg","filesize":72213,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-and-a-GIS-student-e1781693750854.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/sharing-collaboration\/growing-a-successful-geospatial-program\/katherine-hahn-and-a-gis-student","alt":"Two women side by side with computer screens displaying a dashboard behind them","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"Katherine Hahn (left) with a student who recently completed GIS 1 and GIS 2 through the Geospatial Semester Program.","name":"katherine-hahn-and-a-gis-student","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2970175,"date":"2026-06-17 10:51:11","modified":"2026-06-17 10:53:13","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1055,"height":690,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-and-a-GIS-student-e1781693750854-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-and-a-GIS-student-e1781693750854-399x261.jpg","medium-width":399,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-and-a-GIS-student-e1781693750854-768x502.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":502,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-and-a-GIS-student-e1781693750854.jpg","large-width":1055,"large-height":690,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-and-a-GIS-student-e1781693750854.jpg","1536x1536-width":1055,"1536x1536-height":690,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-and-a-GIS-student-e1781693750854.jpg","2048x2048-width":1055,"2048x2048-height":690,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-and-a-GIS-student-e1781693750854-711x465.jpg","card_image-width":711,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/katherine-hahn-and-a-GIS-student-e1781693750854.jpg","wide_image-width":1055,"wide_image-height":690}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2937432,"id":2937432,"title":"separator-opening-2025","filename":"separator-opening-2025.png","filesize":88738,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/separator-opening-2025.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/announcements\/show-us-your-geospatial-storytelling-skills\/separator-opening-2025","alt":"Three hexbins in a horizontal row filled with Living Atlas map images","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"separator-opening-2025","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2922302,"date":"2025-08-27 09:04:35","modified":"2025-08-27 09:05:02","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1952,"height":237,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/separator-opening-2025-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/separator-opening-2025.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":56,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/separator-opening-2025.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":93,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/separator-opening-2025.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":233,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/separator-opening-2025-1536x186.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/separator-opening-2025.png","2048x2048-width":1952,"2048x2048-height":237,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/separator-opening-2025-826x100.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":100,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/separator-opening-2025-1920x233.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":233}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The Geospatial Semester<\/a> (GSS) is an innovative dual enrollment program between high schools in Virginia and the Integrated Science and Technology department at James Madison University (JMU) that started over 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

Through GSS, students learn more than textbook geography and GIS computer applications. The program teaches students to find data and create maps to solve real-world problems. And their capstone projects?<\/em> Students present their findings visually in ArcGIS StoryMaps!<\/p>\n

The results\u2014inspiring. The demand\u2014growing.<\/p>\n

In Loudon County alone, juniors and seniors from 16 of the 17 Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) participate in GSS. The LCPS program enrollment increased from 368 students in 2023-2024 to 940 in 2025-2026, with 1040 projected for the new school year. And there’s good reason for that growth.<\/p>\n

The LCPS students, and students state-wide, recently participated in the LCPS Geospatial Science Symposium. Throughout the annual event, students presented projects in a poster gallery and with ArcGIS StoryMaps. They received feedback from other students, the public, and guest judges.<\/p>\n

The eight winning stories listed below were submitted to the Map Gallery at the 2026 Esri User Conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2970248,"id":2970248,"title":"storymaps student winners","filename":"storymaps-student-winners.png","filesize":1141264,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/storymaps-student-winners.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/sharing-collaboration\/growing-a-successful-geospatial-program\/storymaps-student-winners","alt":"A collage of eight maps and scenes from the winning student projects at the LCPS Geospatial Science Symposium","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"storymaps-student-winners","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2970175,"date":"2026-06-15 15:18:14","modified":"2026-06-15 20:46:44","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1400,"height":800,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/storymaps-student-winners-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/storymaps-student-winners.png","medium-width":457,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/storymaps-student-winners.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":439,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/storymaps-student-winners.png","large-width":1400,"large-height":800,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/storymaps-student-winners.png","1536x1536-width":1400,"1536x1536-height":800,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/storymaps-student-winners.png","2048x2048-width":1400,"2048x2048-height":800,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/storymaps-student-winners-814x465.png","card_image-width":814,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/storymaps-student-winners.png","wide_image-width":1400,"wide_image-height":800}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"