Student Spotlight: Aziz Fellague Ariouat

This week, our student spotlight is cast on another Geography major, Aziz Fellague Ariouat.  He was recently interviewed by Communications student Alexander Yem, and here is what Aziz had to say about his experiences as as a Geography major.

Alexander: What made you choose a Geography major?

Aziz: Initially, I was an International Studies it was interesting, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my degree. What I decided to do was take a look back and see what my passion and interests when I was younger. I was fascinated with geography and all the different kinds of fields like GIS (map making) 🌎, environmental applications 🏞, and urban geography 🏙 I’m so happy with my decision to go into geography!

Alexander: What are your plans after college?

Aziz: I’m applying to graduate school! I want to get my Master’s in Urban Regional Planning since I love cities. Also, I’d like to enter the transportation industry to install a better public transportation system 🚆

Alexander: Who’s one of your mentors?

Aziz: I’d say Dr. Christine Jocoy, a Geography professor at CSULB, the classes I took with her inspired me in the direction I’m trying to go. I’m grateful 🙏🏽 for the knowledge she’s taught me the past couple of years. Also, I’ve researched with her this previous summer regarding homelessness. She’s such a great professor I’ve taken her 4 times!

Alexander: What does a Liberal Arts degree?

Aziz: I think its a terrific degree since it’s interdisciplinary. It prepares you for the workforce where you are interacting with different people from different disciplines. Liberal arts allows me to see perspectives 👓 from an Economist, or a Psychologist, and more. These classes have shaped me to the person I am today.

Some more fun facts about Aziz:

“I can speak German🇩🇪! I actually lived in Germany for 7 years, which is funny because my family isn’t German at all 😂 My dad got a job in Germany so we left our California home when I was 9 years old and came back to the U.S. when I was 16 years old.“

#soCLA #StudentofCLA #StudentSpotlight #Geography #CSULB #liberalarts #urbanregionalplanning

Aziz was also featured on the College of Liberal Arts social media spotlight in April of this year:

Say hello to this week’s #StudentofCLA Aziz Fellague. Aziz is a junior majoring in Geography while also pursuing a double certificate in Urban Studies and Geographic Information Science

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“Geography means a lot to me because of its interdisciplinary aspect. Geography is the perfect balance of science and social science, I get to learn how to make maps with data that I obtain and I also get to learn how people utilize public space, I chose urban geography as my concentration because I’ve always been interested in cities and how they function, but I also chose to add a Geographic Information Science certificate because I also like making maps and visualizing data in appealing ways.Throughout my college career I’ve had plenty of amazing professors in the department, and I couldn’t pick one! Dr. Jocoy’s Sustainable Cities class and Dr. House Peters’ Environmental Sustainability & Social Justice class. Dr. Jocoy really is able to get the best out of her students and prepares us for the real world, and we’ve been on great field trips during her class including to a community garden and the LA River. Dr. House Peters’ class introduced me to the concept of environmental justice, which is a topic that I am very passionate about. A significant moment in my college career has been my internship at Long Beach Transit. I have been the Government Relations Intern there for nearly a year and working at such a supportive work environment has confirmed that I want to be involved in the transportation industry in some capacity in the future. I graduate in Spring 2020, so what I want to do is find a job in an urban planning-related field, work for a year, and then I would like to go back to school to pursue my Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning.” #StudentsofCLA #Geography #UrbanStudies #GIS #CSULB #CollegeofLiberalArts

Article and Photo Credit: CSULB College of Liberal Arts