UW-Whitewater students earn third place in Google Map Maker Contest

WHITEWATER -- UW-Whitewater Seniors Chris Berryman, Jimmy Garner, Amanda Kretschmer and Audrey Salerno literally put their college on the map while taking part in Google's Map Maker Contest. The group competed against students from 48 universities in the U.S and Canada, earning third place.

Before these students entered the Google contest, UW-Whitwater was just a colored polygon. "There were no buildings, pathways, parking lots or athletic fields. The online map didn't reflect how dynamic this place is," Berryman said.

The Whitewater seniors spend four weeks helping Google fill in the blank space that represented UW-Whitewater using Google Map Maker technology. "We made thousands of edits. We drew outlines of every building and sidewalk, even the nature areas," Kretschmer said.

Salerno, who uses a wheelchair, helped the team detail paths and potential barriers to those using wheelchairs. "Whether you walk, bike, skateboard or use a wheelchair, we want to create routes for every mode of transportation," Salerno said.

The groups' hard work eventually paid off after placing third in the national competition. "It was intimidating to go up against schools much larger than us. We demonstrated that we can compete against anyone, and now our work is available for millions of people to see," Garner said.