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Cheyenne Harrington

Dr. Elizabeth Walton

Geosciences Senior Colloquium

13 November 2019

Geo is a word that relates to anything that has to do with Earth. Geography is a field of

research that focuses and studies how Earth is displayed. This includes lands, creatures that

inhabit it, and the other planets in our solar system. There is a split in this study that focuses on

physical geography while the other focuses on human geography. My degree is Geography with

concentration in physical. This goes into the environment while human goes into people and how

they interact or researching behavior in different cultures. Geographers can have many different

jobs, for example Eratosthenes. This historic geographer was able to calculate the size of the

Earth. Geographers also use this field to calculate the sizes of mountains. Geographers that study

and learn GIS, geographic information system, can map the environment. This is extremely

important and makes employment after graduation a lot less complicated.

My goals are a little different than those who are going for the same degree as I am.

Throughout my years in college my major has changed so many times. What made me fall in

love with this general field was environmental science. I actually recently went from being a ESP

major to physical geography. Truth be told is was to cut back on so many needed pre-reqs but to

keep me on the same track without having to graduate being in major debt. I’m comfortable with

my decision to switch over because for a long time my idea has been to work for a non-profit

organization. I never have been clear on how I want my future career to be or how my life will
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look. I know, however, that life becomes brighter with a degree. I know that doors will open that

I may not have ever thought of or considered before, but I do have full confidence that I will

have a better life from having a degree and I hope above all that it’s something I genuinely love

doing. My idea of working for a non-profit organization like the Sierra Club comes from my

longing to help make the world a little bit better. They say you should leave the Earth a little

better than when you found it. I believe this statement whole-heartedly. My mother raised me to

be very environmentally conscience and it’s something I value so much that I want my future

career to focus around it.

I have spent many more years working towards my bachelor’s degree than the standard

four. In this time, I have learned amazing lessons in college. My first is to not settle on a degree

if you don’t believe it’s right for you. I started this journey going for Psychology. I liked my

classes and easily passed them, but when it came to career options, I didn’t have any call to me.

If you do what you love, then you never work a day in your life. Had I ended up as a case worker

that worked with children from bad homes like I briefly considered because I genuinely wanted

to help children but when it comes down to it I know that I couldn’t mentally handle seeing

situations that need the involvement of a case worker. I respect what they do because my heart

would be constantly breaking.

Another great lesson learned is don’t procrastinate on a four-page paper due in four hours

because my fingers will be sore from flying across the keyboard! I learned how important

education truly is to me. The number of mental breakdowns I’ve had for mid-terms or finals or

having multiple assignments due in a week has really shown me that I’m still crazy enough to

sign up for another semester of stress because of how much I want my college degree. I started at

Pasco-Hernando State College and transferred the USF after I graduated with my AA. Since the
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switch I have learned one of the greatest lessons. Always give yourself at least two hours before

class starts to find a parking spot! I am the first to graduate from college in my family. Counting

my mom, aunt, and two older cousins, I am also the first to graduate from High School since my

grandmother. I take great pride in this because I’m showing myself that I want to rise from what

I came from. This goes into one of the advantages of being the first to graduate. I want to see

how different my life will be with education that from what I grew up with. Life was never

horrible growing up but having a career in life was always a priority to me. As someone who

grew up in a lower income household, I want to one day raise a child in a higher income

household. Another advantage of being the first to graduate is the possibility to switch the

direction of my family.

Two weeks after I graduated from high school, I had my first and only sibling born. I

want her to see her older sister and follow the path that I’m on. I will absolutely be a positive

influence on her when it comes to continuing with education after high school. The disadvantage

of being the first to graduate was I didn’t know what in the world I was doing. Though I always

talked to advisors, I never knew how many classes I should be taking or how to make sure I was

taking classes that I needed rather than wasting time and money and prolonging my time in

school. As the semesters go on, I look back and think, if I did this or didn’t take that I would

probably have my degree by now. However, I do believe that it was important for me to take my

time earning my degree. I believe fresh out of high school that I wasn’t taking my classes as

seriously or if too many would have a negative impact on my mental health because I do have

anxiety. I never did understand those who can take six classes and ace them all. Though people

like that have earned my admiration.

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Living in Zephyrhills which tends to be a lower income town, I would give advice to my

friends from high school that didn’t go on to college and are following their parent’s footsteps.

Rise from where you came from and get your education. Move out of Zephyrhills and start an

amazing life somewhere new. When I graduate, I plan on moving back up north and starting

fresh. I think that’s the healthiest thing I can do for myself when I fully dive into adulthood and

start a career.

Additional elements:

I am currently a member for the Florida Wildlife Federation. I have been a member for a short

time but as a broke college kid, this was the best option to be involved while also being

financially conscience. This membership had all the elements that I find most interesting.

Letter of recommendation:

To whom it may concern,

I am a supervisor from Dairy Queen and am writing to recommend Cheyenne Harrington.

I was Cheyenne’s employer for nearly 3 years as her supervisor. When she worked for the

company, she was always coming in with a positive attitude, willing to help when needed, and

was a very quick learner. Through any of Cheyenne’s shifts she always did what had to be done

without being asked. It was never a concern if she could perform her tasks quickly and

efficiently.

Cheyenne showed a great commitment to this company by working here for so many

years. Her attendance was near perfect and I have full faith that she would fully commit to any

company to her full potential. She was a great asset to our company and is a true privilege to

have as an employee.
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I recommend Cheyenne to you with no reservation. If you have any further questions regarding

her work ethic or anything else, do not hesitate to call or email. (813) 783-XXXX or

S.Vaidya90@gmail.com.

Academic activities:

I started USF participating in the Environmental club. This semester didn’t agree with the

times that meetings were held but I fully plan to join again next semester. I believe it’s important

to be involved in clubs that relate to your major and be involved with fellow peers.

Additional work:
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Population of the State of Maine by Counties

Cheyenne Harrington
Pasco- Hernando State College
Intro to Stats
Jorge Gavillan
Feb. 14, 2018
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Maine is [also] the 41st most populated state in the US, with an estimated population of
1.34 million in 2018. (Word Population Review, 2018) The data collected below reflects the
state of Maine concerning age, gender, and racial diversity of those that currently reside in the
state. The majority of the figures focuses on the different ethnicities and the mass majority of
Caucasians living in the state of Maine over all other ethnicities.

Percentage of Residents Under 5

7

Figure 1
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Percentage of Residents Under 18

25

20

15

10

Figure 2

Percentage of Residents over 65

25

20

15

10

Figure 3

While ages don’t seem to have much of a pattern, figures 1 and 3 show that there is a
small spike for residents under five years of age living in Androscoggin County and there is a
steady increase of residents over the age of sixty-five among all counties with the highest amount
residing in York County.
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Percentage of Females
51.8
51.6
51.4
51.2
51
50.8
50.6
50.4
50.2
50
49.8

Figure 4

Though data for male residents was not collected it is still clear to see just from glancing
at figure 4 that women in every county seem to count for about half of the residencies showing a
lack of pattern in genders for each county.

Percentage of Caucasians
99
98
97
96
95
94
93
92
91
90
89

Figure 5
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Percentage of People of Color

4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

Figure 6

Percentage of Native Americans

6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Figure 7

Figures 5-7 shows how predominantly white the state of Maine is over the amount of
residents of color. Most of these residents seem to primarily reside in Waldo County,
Washington County, and the highest amount in York County. As of 2016 white alone residents
counted for 94.8% of the population over the 1.5% of black population. (US Department of
Commerce)
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Percentage of Asians
2.5

1.5

0.5

Figure 8

Figure 8 shows a higher increase of residents who are Asian over residents who are of
color but are still overshadowed by residents who are Caucasian. The figure above shows a large
increase of those who are Asian residing in Cumberland County.

Percentage of Mixed Races

2.5

1.5

0.5

Figure 9
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Percentage of Hispanics
2
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

Figure 10

Figures 9 and 10 show a stronger sense of racial diversity in the percentage of Hispanic
and mixed races in the state of Maine. There isn’t too much of a pattern except for in figure 10
which shows the highest amount of Hispanics residing in the same county as the highest amount
of Asians making Cumberland County seem more diverse over other counties.
Maine was chosen for this project do to sentimental value of the researcher. The ages and
gender of Maine residents mostly seemed to be equal without too much standing out. The only
variable in the data that was substantially different was the lack of racial diversity which was
found to be truly surprising.
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References
Maine Population 2018. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2018, from
http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/maine-population/
QuickFacts. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2018, from
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ME/PST045216