Two Spartan Geography undergraduates earn geospatial intelligence scholarships
September 29, 2026
The Department of Geography is proud to announce that two undergraduate students, Erin Lepsch and Ariel Ooms, have been selected as recipients of prestigious 2026 scholarships from the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF).
USGIF scholarships are awarded annually to outstanding high school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students advancing the fields of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), GIS, remote sensing, and location science across the nation.
Ariel Ooms
Recipient of the Black Cape Scholarship for Students in Geospatial Intelligence
Ariel Ooms is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Geographic Information Science with minors in Social Science Quantitative Data Analytics and Global Public Health and Epidemiology. Over the past year, Ariel served as president of both the MSU Geography Club and Supporting Women in Geography (SWIG). Her research contributions include investigating food insecurity in Flint, Michigan, and utilizing remote sensing methodologies to identify root disease in sugar beets. This past summer, Ariel completed an internship on the intelligence team at Esri and plans to pursue a master’s degree in biostatistics to integrate GIS with public health and epidemiology.
"Being awarded the Black Cape Scholarship for Students in Geospatial Intelligence is such an unbelievable honor," said Ooms. "It has provided me not only financial stability as I enter my final semester as an undergraduate student, but has also given me the recognition and encouragement that I am on the right track and thriving in my chosen field. This award gives me the chance to continue following my passions and enhance my abilities as I enter my professional career."
Erin Lepsch
Recipient of the Reinventing Geospatial, Inc. (RGi) Scholarship for Geospatial and Engineering
Erin Lepsch is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Geography with a minor in Geophysics. She worked as a GIS intern at RS&GIS this past summer, applying remote sensing and geospatial methods to research environmental habitats in Great Lakes lakebeds and processing drone imagery for agricultural research. Her primary research interests center on underwater mapping and SLAM technology. This semester, Erin is continuing her work with RS&GIS and is also working as an undergraduate researcher in MSU’s Hydrogeology lab, where she is applying various experimental remote sensing and programming methods to identify cooling systems of thermoelectric power plants in the Great Lakes Basin states. She also serves as the secretary of Supporting Women in Geography (SWIG) and is an Undergraduate Learning Assistant for the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences.
"Being awarded the RGi Scholarship for Geospatial and Engineering is a huge honor that I'm deeply grateful for," said Lepsch. "Pursuing higher education and research can be incredibly costly, and opportunities like the one USGIF and RGi are providing me help bridge the gap between ambition and execution. Receiving this kind of aid directly supports my skill development and pursuit of further research opportunities."
The department extends its warmest congratulations to Erin and Ariel on these remarkable achievements and wishes them continued success in their academic and professional endeavors in GEOINT.
To read the full list of recipients and learn more about the program, visit the USGIF 2026 Scholarship Recipients page.