At Cannon & Cannon, Inc. (CCI), GIS plays a crucial role in enhancing infrastructure planning, design, and decision-making. Meghan Durham, GIS Analyst, shares her journey into the field, the projects that excite her most, and the value GIS brings to utility management, broadband expansion, and beyond.
Can you tell us a little about your background, how you got into GIS, and what you enjoy most about working in this field?
I graduated from UTK in 2019 with a degree in Geography. My degree has two concentrations – Geospatial Information and Technology, and Climate Science. I was originally pursuing a meteorology career because I have always been a huge weather nerd, and that path at UT is through the Geography Department. There were several major prerequisite courses involving GIS for the Geography degree that I had to take, and in those I realized I really enjoyed all the processes of mapping and even had a knack for it! So, I decided to tack on the GIS/T concentration and see where it took me!
The most enjoyable part of GIS for me is being able to make data speak for itself. Spatial data tables and excel sheets sometimes come with the need to be interpreted, but I can take that data and plot it on a map and tell a story with it. What would you rather have, a list with latitude longitude coordinates, or a map showing you where they are?
How long have you been with CCI, and what drew you to the company?
I came on board at CCI in June of 2022. I previously worked for a local utility company, where I had been since graduation in 2019. When I heard of a potential opening at CCI, I started researching the company and becoming familiar with all the parts and pieces that make up the whole. I realized that in a consulting environment, you have the opportunity to work and expand your skillset beyond your normal specialty being that you have multiple clients with different needs and initiatives. I came as a GIS Analyst, but I have also learned how to design Fiber Optic/Broadband networks using GIS in the process. There aren’t many other places where that would have been possible!
What does a typical day look like for you as a GIS Analyst at CCI?
A typical day for me could range from making map exhibits for waterline extensions, to doing on site visits at an apartment complex to plan a fiber design for the building, to a full week using ESRI Field Maps in rural Virginia doing a preliminary fiber design!
What are some of the most exciting projects you’ve worked on?
A year or so ago, I began a project with the goal of mapping all the water and sewer assets in Anderson County. That involved receiving data from multiple utilities (in multiple formats – a challenge!) and mapping them in one cohesive space. In one area, I was looking at blueprint drawings of water lines from the 1930s and mapping them by hand straight into the GIS map. I learned that day that they used to run water lines to cattle troughs!
What skills do you think are essential for someone in GIS?
Attention to detail, spatial recognition, and creative design – just to name a few!
How has working at CCI helped you develop your skillset?
Having multiple clients and multiple projects as well as multiple departments in CCI with GIS needs, I began getting my hands on new tasks very quickly. When I worked at a local utility board, my only tasks were to map utility assets. When I came on board at CCI, I quickly began learning how to map and design fiber optic networks and assist departments outside of the utility sector, including environmental and transportation efforts as well.
What advice would you give to someone interested in a career in GIS?
Your specialty is specifically curated to enhance someone else’s specialty. You may be working with an electrical engineer, aiding them in visualizing hotspot locations where trees cause the most damage to distribution lines so they know where to spend more money on tree trimming. Or you may be working for the national park service, assisting an environmental engineer with how to best maintain some of the most treacherous parts of the Appalachian Trail during the peak hiking season. Your job will be to take their data and make it “talk” or collect data and display it in a way that helps them make critical decisions. Your work enhances and increases the value of others!
