Graduating with global impact

Many students graduate from the University of Calgary with hopes of engaging in meaningful work and making an impact on the world. Moazima Rizwan is well on her way. 

Her Bachelor of Arts in geography is backed by an impressive track record of success that includes a high-profile internship with the United Nations, a place on the Faculty of Arts Dean’s List, and award-winning map presentations here on campus.

She credits her early successes to a belief in the importance of exploring the world of opportunities she sees, even if it is a little uncomfortable.

Gaining a global perspective

In 2024, Moazima was selected as a recipient of the University of Calgary Global Access Fund Award and participated in a study abroad program in Italy and Greece with a focus on geography, culture, sustainability and urban landscapes. 

The program helped her explore historical and contemporary approaches to urban planning, environmental management and cultural heritage. She learned to use geospatial thinking and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to better understand the interaction between people and place as she translated field observations into interactive spatial narratives.

UN internship had international impact 

Moazima’s study abroad experience helped prepare her for an internship with the United Nations Operations and Crisis Centre (UNOCC). As a GIS intern, she created a mapping tool that makes geospatial information more accessible to UN leadership.  

“I built a mapping web app that is used for global decision making at the UN,” she says. “Instead of taking four or five hours to make a map, with the new web app, it takes only 10 minutes or less.”

In February, as the war in Iran was quickly escalating, Moazima received an urgent request for a series of Middle East maps to help the UNOCC make decisions about the evolving situation. These maps were sent to the secretary-general to mark up with notes and incident locations.

Following in her father’s footsteps

Moazima’s path into geography started early, inspired by a shared love of maps with her father, Dr. Rizwan Shahid, MGIS’05, PhD'14, a professional geographic information scientist and adjunct assistant professor in UCalgary’s Department of Geography.

“He's the one who encouraged and motivated me,” she says. “Seeing him work in geography, I thought this is so cool. I love map making and performing spatial analysis, too.”

That shared interest in mapping and spatial thinking naturally led Moazima to study geography at UCalgary.

Participating in the UCalgary community

On campus, Moazima has distinguished herself academically. This past year, she was recognized with the Best Map Showcase Award at the Annual Department of Geography Graduate Research Conference, where she was among only a few undergraduate students.

“I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and explore new opportunities,” Moazima says regarding her decision to present at the conference. “I wanted to be there and see what other people have done. It was a great experience for me.”

Stepping out of this comfort zone has helped Moazima to learn, grow and become a familiar name on campus.

Most recently, she was selected to share her experiences as a panel speaker for the 2026 Community Report event, alongside UCalgary President Ed McCauley and Provost Sandra Davidson.

Making information accessible

The creation and sharing of Moazima’s UNOCC maps have a common thread with much of her work: She wants to make information accessible. Her internship made this happen on a global scale, but she is equally dedicated to helping on a local scale, whether that be for mental health, disability or religious outcomes.

Moazima was recently awarded the Accessibility Research Excellence Scholarship, and will spend her summer break working as a research assistant for UCalgary’s Accessible Mapping Research Lab, where she will work on mapping Calgary’s places of worship for inclusive and equitable planning.

This fall, Moazima will be on campus, as she continues her academic journey and pursues a Master of Science in geography.

“There is so much opportunity in the world. I’ve just got to be willing to take it,” she says. “If I didn’t keep pushing myself to do bigger and better things, I wouldn’t be where I am.”