Welcome to my electronic portfolio
My name is Mitch Carter, and I am a recent graduate of Auburn University where I earned my B.A. and M.S. in Geography from the Department of Geosciences. I am currently working as a research assistant for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System at Auburn University on a federally funded grant to prevent and reduce obesity in fourteen counties throughout the state of Alabama. Please feel free to click through the headings at the top of the page in order to find out more about me and to browse through examples of my academic and professional work.
What's the capital of...
As many of my peers and cohorts will tell you, we live in a country where very few children grow up with the intent to study spaces and places. In fact, if you would have asked me as a kid to make a list of what I wanted to be when I grew up, then “geographer” would likely have been positioned toward the bottom of that list, if anywhere at all. In fact, not until my sophomore year as an undergraduate in college did I come to discover my true passion after completing my second geography course at Auburn University, a course on cultural geography. Only then did I begin to see geography in a new light as a discipline far beyond that one class in fourth grade where we learned state capitals and postal abbreviations. In fact, the most common response I receive when telling friends and relatives about my area-of-interest is, "So what's the capital of [insert state/province/territory/country here]?" Either that, or a quick remark about rocks. I am not a geologist, and I cannot recite the capitals of the world.
Geography is not solely a discipline of what is where; instead, critical geography attempts to answer the question of why. As a student of geography, I am constantly expanding my awareness of the surrounding environment in attempt to think critically and apply geographic knowledge to my every-day life. Our surrounding landscapes have been shaped by countless cultural events throughout time to produce what we see today. Growing up, I have always been interested in travel, culture, and spending time outdoors. These three attributes translated into someone who had no clue that geography was the obvious path. And nearly four years after my transition to geography, I am more passionate about the subject than ever.
The decision to create an online portfolio is based on my intention to surpass the information that can be displayed via a traditional paper resume. At the top of this page, you will see headings that focus on my experiences as a geographer thus far. For potential employers, you can direct your attention to the In the Field tab which highlights my cartographic and GIS work as a practicing geographer. For potential doctoral programs or those wishing to view my academic work, please direct your attention to the In the Classroom tab which features various projects and research work as student at Auburn University. And for a quick traditional look at my experience, follow the link to the right to view a copy of my résumé.
Cheers,
-Mitch
External media
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Upon my acceptance into the geography graduate program at Auburn, I was awarded a full time teaching assistantship which offered financial and professional benefits with the opportunity to assist professors in teaching course materials. In addition to my work as a student, I served as teaching assistant for two courses each semester. This leadership role not only allowed me to gain experience as a leader in the classroom, but also provided the opportunity to strengthen my knowledge and skills as a practicing geographer. Below, you will find a brief description of a few of the classes for which I served as teaching assistant.
Research Assistant
After completing my master's degree in the spring of 2015, I was hired by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to assist on a federally funded grant to prevent and reduce obesity in fourteen counties throughout Alabama which had adult obesity rates of 40% or greater. The position for Built Environment Assessor has allowed me to utilize GIS skills in order to assess food and physical activity environments, nearly identical work to my master's thesis, only on a larger scale and one which involves intervention.
The project is titled ALProHealth, which stands for Alabama Preventing and ReducingObesity: Helping to Engage Alabamians for Long-Term Health. The project is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is currently being funded in six additional states through Cooperative Extension programs. The goal of the project is to use evidence- and practice-based strategies to improve nutrition education, healthy food access, and access to places for safe and affordable physical activity through addressing policy, system, and environmental changes. The project is a grassroots style community-based effort with individual community coalitions that focus on health and wellness in each of the fourteen counties.
My involvement with this project is unique and new, as I am gaining experience with grassroots community involvement, developing and sustaining community coalitions, and working with an interdisciplinary team from multiple academic backgrounds. In my years as a graduate student, I spent much of my time in an office behind a computer. The ALProHealth project has allowed me to gain valuable experience working with individuals within a community and helping to make a difference in their lives by making simple changes to their communities that in-turn promote a healthy lifestyle.
So far, we have conducted community assessments through focus groups with community champions, from which our team identified barriers within communities to living a healthy lifestyle as well as opportunities for promoting and engaging in healthier behaviors. Implementation is currently ongoing as we transition into Year 2. For an overview of a portion of our project, you can click the image below to view a poster presentation from Auburn University's This is Research: Faculty Symposium.