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From left to right: Seth Johnson, GIS director Chad Sperry, Connor Clark.
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Two WIU GIS Students Receive ILGISA Awards

November 10, 2026

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MACOMB, IL - - Two Western Illinois University students received recognition for their work in the WIU Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Center.

Senior Emergency Management major Seth Johnson, of Macomb, and senior Construction Management major Connor Clark, of Macomb, earned Illinois GIS Association Outstanding Student Awards at the 2026 ILGISA Conference

WIU GIS Center director Chad Sperry said both students have become invaluable assets to the team.

Johnson has spent nearly two years in the GIS Center, and Sperry praised his attention to detail while working on data modeling and quality assurance for the 911 Indoor Mapping Project.

"Seth compliments his technical skills by also bringing a positive attitude and strong work ethic to every task," Sperry said. "When we have critical or short-notice deadlines, he is someone we can rely on to work efficiently and thoroughly while maintaining a high level of quality."

Clark has been at the GIS Center for one year, primarily working on converting school floor plans into CAD files that can be used to create detailed indoor maps of school facilities. He has displayed a work ethic and willingness to take on any task that is needed, Sperry said.

"His work is thorough and consistently reflects a high level of attention to detail," Sperry said. "He takes pride in doing things correctly and makes every effort to ensure that the work he produces meets our standards."

The WIU GIS Center is responsible for compiling, managing and storing GIS data layers for the McDonough County GIS Consortium and completed GIS and GPS work for various federal, state and local entities. This provides WIU students with hands-on GIS and GPS training that can be carried into their future careers.

For more information on WIU's GIS program, visit wiu.edu/GIS.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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