Q: What led you to create Geo For Tomorrow? It's an extraordinary idea for a teenager to conceive and follow through on.

A: I've been fascinated by geography since I was in first grade and got my first atlas. I read about all these different countries and people, and it really fascinated me. I wanted to learn more, so I bought more books, and started reading, and I was able to do well at several geography competitions--most notably the National Geographic League. During my 8th grade year, I went to the state round, and that really got me excited.

I've also been fortunate to travel around the United States and several other countries. In my freshman year of high school, I was struck by the fact that not many kids, in my area especially, had the same opportunities to learn about the diversity of the world, so I decided to form GFT. In our globalized society, it’s crucial to have some kind of geo-literacy for a prospective career.

Q: Would you ever consider a career as a teacher?

A: Yes, I hope to be a teacher. I'm also interested in biomedicine, so in the future, I hope to bridge geography and biomedicine into a unique career path. Maybe I could form my own company and do some interesting things with healthcare, and analyzing healthcare across the globe and different applications of that

Q: How have Google Geo Tools been useful in your work, and what led you to those tools?

A: When I was a kid, I used to go on Google Maps and look at different places, especially through Street View--that was one of my hobbies. It was really fun; I'd do it almost every weekend. I was amazed by the different types of atmospheres and landscapes around the world, and that helped spark my interest in this field.

Fast forwarding to GFT, Google Maps allows students like me to know about all kinds of places in the world without having to go there. You can use Street View to look at different places in the Middle East, and kids can learn about those places without being there. That's very powerful.

Q: Presumably, using these kinds of immersive maps encourages empathy, as well as igniting the students’ curiosity.

A: Definitely. With the virtual reality tools, the kids are fascinated by the fact that you can look into a different place, one that's completely foreign, and feel like you're really there.

We also have an activity where we have the kids learn about mapping technologies, and then draw a map of their school, or of the site where we're working—and they're able to walk around, survey the area, draw different places, and also gain a sense of spatial knowledge. We think this activity is really powerful in terms of allowing the students to develop their thinking about maps, and where they are in relation to other places in the world.

It also prepares them for future challenges: being out in the world with their careers, and becoming critical thinkers about what's going on around them, and asking big questions. Once they're able to do that, they can succeed in any field they're passionate about. It's that core curiosity and analytical thinking that geography really helps to build.