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“Which totally locked in things for me,” McDonnell says. “I decided Eau Claire was where I was going to end up and then that same day I got a letter in the mail saying I got the Foust scholarship.”

The tour and early communication with department staff helped McDonnell secure the first-ever Brady Foust Geospatial Analysis and Technology Scholarship, the vision of the late professor emeritus of geography Dr. Brady Foust and his wife, Jeanne Foust. After both serving in the geography field for decades, they donated $1 million to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation to endow a scholarship for a first-year student majoring in geospatial analysis and technology.

“It’s very hard to try and put words behind what this scholarship has meant to me,” says McDonnell, now a college senior set to graduate in May. “I’m walking away with two majors and no debt.”

McDonnell’s scholarship has awarded her $8,000 per year for her entire college career. Currently, first-year recipients receive $8,500, with the ability to be awarded a total of $34,000 over four years.

Jeanne Foust says she is thrilled she can support McDonnell and the three other recipients currently pursuing the major.

“I feel very honored that this is fulfilling one of the great wishes Brady had,” Jeanne Foust says. “It’s fun to see students delving into geospatial, especially if we can be supporting them.”

Initially, the scholarship required students to graduate with two majors so they would be more highly sought after in many career areas following graduation. Now, students can choose a minor as a second academic program, and they must maintain a 3.0 GPA. McDonnell’s second major is biology, which she says will serve as a specialization tool for her geospatial studies.

Following her father's footsteps

McDonnell’s interest in geography was piqued after taking a course at a nearby community college, but she didn’t know it could become a profession. Her father, a geography minor in college, knew about GIS and suggested further exploration.

“I told my dad, ‘No, I’m not going to do that.’ Well, here I am,” McDonnell says with a smile, reflecting on her stubbornness at 17.

The more she learned about the field, the more interested she became in studying it. She had heard of UW-Eau Claire because her brother toured the campus — prompting her mother to correctly predict McDonnell would be the one to study there — and it became one of her top choices based on its reputation for GIS instruction.

“I definitely have fallen more in love with GIS and geography in general. Every semester I take some GIS, remote sensing or cartography class,” McDonnell says. “it’s just really interesting to see the technical process that goes behind creating a map or visual that tells you so much information.”

McDonnell has participated in four research projects, three of which focused on geospatial aspects. The latest one took her to the Philippines to analyze shoreline changes caused by major weather and tectonic events.

Those experiences, combined with the confidence the scholarship instilled in her, have helped McDonnell push herself outside of her comfort zone. She currently serves as president of UW-Eau Claire’s Delta Tau chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon, a geography honor society, and previously served as president of the Geography & Anthropology Club.

McDonnell worked side-by-side with Yvonne Plomedahl, the department’s longtime academic assistant, and became a go-to source of information for Dr. Ryan Weichelt when he became department chair.

“Grace would know where things were. She was always so quick to help,” says Weichelt, who also serves as the faculty advisor to the Geography & Anthropology Club. “She’s an excellent student and role model for other students in the department.”

Weichelt also hopes more female students can follow McDonnell’s lead, as the geospatial analysis field is male dominated.

Neighboring map coordinates

Though Jeanne Foust and McDonnell have not yet met in person, they recently learned they come from neighboring towns in western Minnesota.

“Talk about a moment of Zen,” says Foust, who is from Redwood Falls, Minnesota, about 20 miles south of McDonnell’s hometown of Olivia, Minnesota.

Foust went on to work for Esri, a global market leader in GIS software, location intelligence and mapping. McDonnell is currently applying for GIS analyst or specialist roles with a preference to work in Minnesota.

As she reflects on her college journey, McDonnell hopes she has illustrated her gratitude for the Foust scholarship, which she calls life-changing. 

“It was just too perfect,” she says. “It felt like proof I belonged here and I was on the right path.”