After graduating, Edmonds attended graduate school at the University of Maryland, College Park at the urging of John Starr, former UMBC geography department chair, and was a graduate assistant at UMBC. He developed his business skills by helping Rabenhorst run the UMBC Cartographic Services lab, which produces custom graphics for faculty and outside companies.

In 1985, Edmonds started his own business, Maryland Cartographics, with four other UMBC graduates. After 10 successful years, it was sold to Geosystems, an established custom cartographic company based in Lancaster, PA. Geosystems changed its name to MapQuest.com in 1999 to better leverage the brand identity of its popular website, which produces electronic maps and customized driving directions.

Edmonds says he has probably hired 50 UMBC graduates over 15 years. He actively recruits from the UMBC geography department through his continuing relationship with Rabenhorst. Everyone benefits. "The students are well-prepared and can go right to work," says Edmonds. "I don't have to waste time and expense doing a national search for an employee, when what I want is right here in my back yard." Edmonds also provides internships for UMBC geography students to give them experience in map design and production.

Tina Graziano, geography and environmental systems '95, has worked as a cartographer for MapQuest.com since graduation. As a student she worked in the cartography lab with Rabenhorst and was an intern at MapQuest.com her senior year. "Once I took my first geography class I really enjoyed it and it's been full speed ahead ever since. I was well prepared for a career in the field--the knowledge and skills I gained apply directly to what I'm doing now." Graziano develops maps for encyclopedia, atlas and road map publishers.

Although MapQuest.com is not solely an Internet company, that aspect of the business has really caught people's attention. "When I go out wearing my MapQuest golf shirt," says Edmonds, "I have people coming up to me saying, 'I use it all the time!'"

Edmond's main focus is custom cartography, and the Columbia office produces a wide range of materials. These include custom maps for college textbooks, corporations such as Federal Express and Choice Hotels, newspapers and the federal government.

"Our cartographic certificate program is one of the best undergraduate programs in the country," says Rabenhorst. Students receive a solid background in cartography, remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems, all of which involve extensive application of computer technology. "It requires special training and a distinctive blend of scientific and artistic talent to produce effective maps. We are as rigorous as any employer would be." Over the years at least five UMBC students have been selected for highly coveted internships with the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC.

"All of our students either have jobs or job offers by the time they graduate, says Rabenhorst." He gets calls from many employers like Edmonds, who recognize the quality preparation and real-world training provided by UMBC.

"Geographers are good at seeing the big picture," says Rabenhorst. They often work with other scientists to address various societal and environmental problems including urban development, poverty and crime, human health, water quality and resources, land and soil resources, biodiversity and habitat loss and climate change.

"Few people come to the university with the idea of majoring in geography," says Rabenhorst. They may remember high school geography as memorizing place names, but once they have taken a geography course at UMBC, they realize it is much more. "The heart of geography is looking at the world and trying to make sense of it."

Denise Elizabeth Lee is a consulting writer and editor with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and is earning a master of library science at the University of Maryland College Park.