16 Header The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 47, No. 6 Member Spotlight By Vanessa Salvia For Josh Kowalski, the path to becoming a licensed land surveyor was anything but straight. It began with a childhood fascination with maps and geography that blossomed into a career merging cutting-edge technology with traditional surveying techniques. Kowalski’s journey started at the University of Vermont, where he pursued a Bachelor’s of Science in Forestry with a strong concentration in geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing. “I’ve just always had an interest in maps and geography,” Kowalski explains. “I took every GIS class available at the university and worked in the UVM Spatial Analysis Lab for several years.” In 2002, when Kowalski expressed his desire to major in GIS to his advisor, he was met with laughter. His advisor told him he couldn’t do that. “It’s just a tool we use, not something you can major in,” Kowalski recalls his adviser saying. How times have changed. Fortunately, two decades later, GIS degrees are commonplace. After graduation, Kowalski’s career took an unexpected detour. While he loved geospatial work, the prospect of working 9-to-5 in front of a computer left him feeling disconnected from the physical world he was mapping. This realization led him to explore other interests, including managing a farm and vineyard in Vermont. “I had this passion for geospatial data, but I just got to a point where I couldn’t be in a computer lab every day,” Kowalski recalls. His love for gardening and growing food, combined with some prior farm work experience, led him down a path into viticulture. Kowalski’s passion for pinot noir eventually brought him to Oregon’s Willamette Valley, renowned for its wine production. He worked a harvest and ended up managing a vineyard near Newberg for several years. It was during this time that a chance encounter with surveyors would change the course of his career once again. While managing the vineyard, Kowalski hired a survey company to map a retention pond for a liner installation. As he watched the surveyors at work, he had an epiphany. “It just clicked for me in that moment,” Kowalski says. “Here’s a way that I can work with geospatial data, but also be out in the field and collect that data.” Josh Kowalski, PLS, CMS-UAS S&F Land Services www.sflands.com Josh on a multi-day bikepacking trip around Mt. Hood, Oregon. Josh running a level loop at Clark College, Vancouver, Washington.
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