When travelling to Anaheim, one would expect a day trip to the Disneyland Resort. Instead, eight scientific research students from Clark Magnet H.S. attended the Environmental Systems Research Institute conference around the corner from Disneyland.

Held May 12 at the Sheraton Hotel in Anaheim, users of ESRI geographic information systems share the new features they develop or showcase the ways that they use mapping software in the workforce and in their studies. The California GIS Conference is in its 22nd year and is held annually at different locations across the state.

Students attended to support senior Devon Taylor, the lead mapper of the Barobusters, as he presented at 15-minute PowerPoint on his data collection of various rockfish species of the Santa Barbara Harbor. According to junior Cristian De La Cruz, Taylor was by far the youngest person to present at this conference but not nearly the least experienced.

“Devon didn’t try to mask his presentation with abstract words that few understand, but instead brought a sense of genuity to his presentation unlike the other presenters who have been using GIS mapping and attending conferences like this for years,” Cruz said.

Taylor said that he was nervous at first but as he went up there, the minutes flew by and there was nothing for him to worry about anymore. “I was panicking at first. When they called my name to go up next I just wanted to leave,” Taylor said. “As I started to talk however, the words rolled out of my mouth and the slides flew by and the next thing I knew I was finished.”