Insights and Perspectives

Paul Toomey IT Scholarship Recognizes More Impressive Tech Talent

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 20:55:00 GMT

Each year, money is generously donated by Geographic Solutions’ employees to fund the Paul Toomey IT Scholarship. The amount is then matched by company Founder and President, Paul Toomey. With the money being collected through the end of November 2023, we sent out the call for applications early this year. The application process was open to the children of Geographic Solutions employees and all Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas County seniors. This year enough money was raised to award four scholarships – more than ever before! Each scholarship recipient received $3,800 which they can use towards credit hours, housing, or curriculum supplies.

Criteria for the scholarship included the demonstration of above-average achievement and motivation towards advancing his or her education in a computer-related field, outstanding service to their school and the community, involvement in extracurricular events, and admirable character. Each applicant was also required to submit an essay detailing what influenced them to pursue a computer-related field of study.

This year we received a record 32 applications! Geographic Solutions’ scholarship committee reviewed these applications thoroughly and chose the four students that best represented the criteria and Geographic Solutions' values.

The Four Recipients of the 2024 Paul Toomey IT Scholarship Are:


Justin Heyman – Lutz, FL Justin is a dedicated student at Steinbrenner High School. He serves as the Band Section Leader and the Metropolitan Ministries Event Planner/Coordinator. Additionally, he is an active member of the National Honor Society, has been recognized as a National Merit Commended Student, and received the Quincy Jones Musicianship Award. Justin plans to pursue a career in a computer-related field after high school, driven by his belief that this will allow him to make a meaningful impact in today’s world. Fun fact: Justin joined us many times for Take Your Kids to Work Day where he shadowed our tech team!		Christian Ramos – Riverview, FL Christian is an actively involved student at Riverview High school. He is involved in Buddy Baseball, a recreation baseball league for players with disabilities, the Raspberry Pi Club, a school computer programming club, and FCA, a faith-based athletic club. He excels academically, maintaining high honor roll status and holds a Microsoft Technology Certification. With a passion for technology, Christian plans to become a software developer, and has studied programming languages like Python, HTML, and CSS. Christian dreams of designing an educational software to support individuals with different types of disabilities.


Hanlin Zhang – Valrico, FL Hanlin Zhang is an accomplished and ambitious high school senior at Strawberry Crest High School. Hanlin’s academic success includes top placements in FBLA Computer Game and Simulation Design and MU Alpha Theta Calculus competitions. He is also certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist and Adobe Certified Professional. Hanlin contributes to the community by preparing and delivering meals to the homeless though the Portamento of Hope Cafe. He plans to pursue a career as a software engineer and will begin his journey at the University of Florida, where he has been accepted into the honors program.		Sarthak Gupta – Tampa, FL Sarthak, a senior at Strawberry Crest High School, has an impressive background, including winning first place in the Congressional App Challenge for developing Signify, an AI app that translates American Sign Language to text and speech. He is also a PSAT/NMSQT National Merit Finalist and a state finalist in the 2024 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition for his work on a pest-identifying robot. Sarthak is active in school and community activities. He is the captain of the Strawberry Crest Varsity Tennis Team and founded the Artificial Intelligence Club. He also has dedicated over 100 hours to Feeding Tampa Bay. Sarthak plans to pursue a career as a software engineer, aiming to contribute to impactful technological advancements.

Since the scholarship was established in 2016 and first awarded in 2017, the Paul Toomey IT Scholarship has helped 14 high-achieving high school seniors in their pursuit of computer-related degrees. Now, a total of 18 scholarships have been awarded! We want to thank everyone who donated to this worthy cause!

Congratulations to each of the recipients! And thank you to every employee that donated to help make their dreams a reality!

Geographic Solutions Salutes Steven Gustafson: An Ally for Veterans in the Community

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 20:18:00 GMT

This Veterans Day, we’re excited to share a spotlight profile and interview on CareerSource Palm Beach County’s Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Steven Gustafson. A former U.S. Marine and an ally for veterans in his community, he recently spoke at our 2023 Workforce Technology Conference about using Employ Florida to increase veteran engagement.

When Gustafson enlisted in the armed forces, he was only 17. He was driven by the opportunity to lift financial burden from his parents. And while he may not have known it at the time, his first job as a land surveyor indirectly prepared him for his service.

“It was incredibly challenging given that you often had to cut line in Florida Everglades swamps to clear a path to determine elevation at different points along the site,” said Gustafson.

When Gustafson transitioned back to civilian employment, he struggled with the guilt of no longer fighting alongside the ones that he had grown so close to during his service. But he turned his struggles into successes by finding a job with his local workforce board as a Local Veteran Employment Representative (LVER). And he now leads a team that has helped at least 20 homeless veterans find livable wages.

His drive to achieve guided him to climb the ranks from Program Manager to Workforce Administrator, eventually moving with his family to Tallahassee.

“I had a commander who told me to always look for opportunities to climb higher in the ranks, not for anything other than to expand the scope of my impact,” said Gustafson.

For Veterans Day, Gustafson’s wants people to honor vets by serving the community.

“The individuals I served alongside were some of the most selfless individuals I have had the honor of knowing,” said Gustafson. “I think that honoring that spirit of selflessness is a great way to honor our veterans, not only on November 11th, but year-round."

The Next Generation of Computer Science: Paul Toomey IT Scholarship Recipients

Mon, 01 May 2023 17:50:00 GMT

Each year, money is generously donated by our GSI employees to fund the Paul Toomey IT Scholarship. The amount is then matched by our company Founder and President Paul Toomey himself. With the money being collected through the end of November 2022, we sent out the call for applications early this year. The application process was open to children of Geographic Solutions employees, as well as all Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas County seniors. This year enough money was raised to award 4 scholarships – more than ever before! Each scholarship recipient received $3,400 which they can use towards credit hours, housing, or curriculum supplies.

Criteria for the scholarship included the demonstration of above-average achievement and motivation towards advancing his/her education in a computer-related field, outstanding service to their school and the community, involvement in extracurricular events, and admirable character. Each applicant was also required to submit an essay detailing what influenced them to pursue a computer-related field of study.

This year we received 22 applications. The GSI scholarship committee reviewed these applications thoroughly and chose the 4 students that best represented the criteria and Geographic Solutions' values.

The four recipients of the 2023 Paul Toomey IT Scholarship are:


Arossa Adhikary – Land O'Lakes, FL Arossa is graduating from Land O’Lakes high school where she was involved in student government, Future Business Leaders of America and Kode with Klossy, a coding organization for young women and non-binary individuals. After college, Arossa plans to work for the government in cybersecurity or computer science combining her desire to serve the public with her love of technology.		Michael See – Palm Harbor, FL Michael spent his high school career involved in many different clubs and organizations including founding East Lake High School’s Artificial Intelligence Club and the Drone club. Michael placed 1st in the People's Choice Awards' Robofest Online World Championship. His entry was an AI-based hand-controlled landing system for a medical delivery drone that navigates natural disasters. He plans to attend the University of Georgia’s Computer Systems Engineering program.


Evan Vargas – Tampa, FL Evan was the president of the STEM club at Tampa Catholic High School and also played on the Varisty Hockey team. Additionally, he spent many hours volunteering for various organizations throughout high school and was inducted into 8 different honor societies. Evan plans to attend the University of South Florida and pursue his dream of being a robotics engineer. Evan's dad Danny Vargas Jr. works here at Geographic Solutions as a Team Lead for the WF Interfaces Team.		Allen Ho – Land O’Lakes, FL Allen has an impressive background, interning for the United States Campaign for Burma and also started his own successful business, RePho, repairing smartphones, tablets and laptops. Allen plans to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology with hopes of starting his own sustainable consumer electronics engineering company in the future.

Congratulations to each of the recipients! And thank you to each and every employee that donated to help make their dreams a reality!

Video: Nebraska Receives 3 Years Worth Of Unemployment Claims In 2 Months

Tue, 05 May 2020 14:32:00 GMT

This article was originally published on www.ketv.com.

After seven weeks, Randy Knaub said he had just about given up on ever receiving his unemployment check. Then, a little over a week ago he got a phone call.

"They called me on a Sunday," Knaub said. It was an adjudicator from the Nebraska Department of Labor.

The adjudicator walked him through the process and two days later, Knaub received his first check.

"I was really impressed. My hats off to Nebraska," Knaub said.

Since March, Nebraska has brought 131 additional adjudicators, such as Lali Sage. "In two months, we received over three years of unemployment claims," Sage said.

She and many others have been working 12-hour days, seven days a week.

Since March, 85% of the claims the state has received were paid within 28 days. Sage was not the adjudicator who helped Knaub. She said it does reflect the resolve of all her co-workers. "This is money that is going to help a family, maybe pay rent maybe put food on the table," Sage said.

16th Annual Workforce Technology Conference Set For June At The New Monterey Conference Center

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 14:37:00 GMT

The 16th Annual Workforce Technology Conference takes place this June in Monterey, California, and we're in a brand-new, state-of-the-art meeting facility.

Celebrating its grand reopening in January of 2018, the Monterey Conference Center is at the center of the city's cultural and economic prosperity, adjoins the Monterey Marriot and Portola Hotel & Spa, and offers more than 40,000 square feet of meeting space.

2019's client summit is poised to deliver the familiar feel that it has each year since its inception in 2003. Our conference planning staff is gearing up to welcome 100+ distinct agencies with 45+ engaging sessions, hosted by 80+ industry and staff speakers.

Regular registration is now open! Visit our new conference page and save your seat today!

Geographic Solutions Named Finalists for Technology Project of the Year By Tampa Bay Tech

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 12:25:00 GMT

Geographic Solutions was recently named a finalist for Technology Project of the Year in Tampa Bay Tech's annual awards ceremony, slated for November 9, 2018.

In September 2017, Hurricane Irma struck the state of Florida, causing billions of dollars in damage. The storm caused many employers to close temporarily, and, in some cases, permanently.

In response to statewide impact, Geographic Solutions collaborated with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to launch the Disaster Recovery Jobs Portal. The website was designed to help residents find employment, with a large number of employers using the site to post relief aid jobs.

Visit the Disaster Recovery Jobs Portal to find and post relief aid positions.

Résumés That Rock

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 14:42:00 GMT

Each year, Virtual OneStop helps thousands of job seekers find the perfect job and guides employers to their next great hire.

During the fall of 2017, our corporate workforce trainer, Dan Fitzgerald, conducted several webinars on labor exchange concepts that workforce staff deal with on a daily basis. At least once a year, Geographic Solutions conducts informative training of this nature, focusing on best practices for résumé development, job and candidate search, and effective job order creation.

In our most recent series, we received close to 800 responses on a variety of résumé-related questions. Survey participants gave their professional insights on several hot topics, including acceptable titles and length, desired employment history length, and the best way to summarize skills and experience. A few questions were specific to our software, and we excluded those questions to stay generic.

Daniel Fitzgerald, Geographic Solutions Trainer, compiled these insights into the article “800 Workforce Staff Can’t Be Wrong: Best Practices for Creating Effective Résumés.” Below is a summary of the key points from that article.

Résumé Length

1 to 2 pages is preferred by most workforce staff.
1 page is also popular for its brevity.
3 pages is acceptable to some, but less common.
Longer résumés (7-10 pages) are rarely recommended.

Résumé Title

Should include the occupation and some personalization.
Avoid including personal details like name or social security number.
Tailor the title to the job being applied for.

Should Résumés Have an Objective Section?

Most respondents prefer a Professional Summary instead of an Objective.
If included, the Objective should be short, and employer focused.

Should a Résumé Be Written in First Person?

Most respondents indicated that job seekers should avoid first person in their résumés.

How Many Years Back Should You Go with Your Employment History?

Nearly all responses were consistent, stating that your Employment History should go back 10 years.

What is the Worst Universal Problem with Résumés?

Here are some of the worst problems workforce staff encountered, in order of importance:

Bad grammar, misspellings, and punctuation
Bad titles
Too long
Not enough keywords for applicant tracking systems
Unsure of salary and other labor market job attributes in a specific area
Too much contact information
Not enough emphasis on achievement in the Employment History
Not dynamic enough

How Should You Save Your Résumé?

Microsoft Word 97-2003 headed the list as a universal choice. Save in Microsoft Word 97-2003 format and include a PDF version.

Should You Provide References with Your Résumé?

The responses were split among the webinar attendees. Some suggest not including references, others recommend a separate attachment or indicating that references are available upon request.

Additional Tips and Insights

Term for Stay-at-Home Parent: The most popular term suggested was Domestic Parent.

Addressing Employment Gaps: Long-term unemployment gaps should be explained. A text section detailing the circumstances could be helpful.

Helpful Tips for Résumés:

Watch capitalizations, grammar, and punctuation.
Avoid using too many bullet points.
Utilize Labor Market Information.
Have multiple people review the résumé.
Ensure keywords from the job description are included.
Use a unique email for job applications.
Email the résumé to yourself to check formatting.
Avoid texting format.
And more…

Take a moment to read each installment of Dan’s three-part series for more detailed insights.

Giving You the Power to Report

Tue, 03 Jul 2018 00:19:00 GMT

What's the best way for frontline staff to get their feet wet with reporting?

Are there any ways to save time when creating reports? What new reports have been added to Virtual OneStop?

Join us to see the answers to these questions by watching this quarter's spotlight on Sr. Business Analyst Liliya Tanska.

Watch video here.

Gaining Knowledge To Stimulate Reemployment

Mon, 02 Jul 2018 16:18:00 GMT

Geographic Solutions recently sent a group of employees from our unemployment insurance team to NASWA's Fountains of Knowledge, the 2018 Unemployment Insurance Interstate Benefits & Federal Programs Training in Savannah, Georgia.

The training program was designed to promote cooperation among states in managing Unemployment Insurance Interstate and Combined Wage Claim operations. It was also organized in an effort to promote efficient administration of the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) and the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-service members (UCX) programs.

The UI team took away invaluable knowledge and insights on many UI topics, including ICON Applications, Combined Wage Claims, and more.

For more information on our unemployment insurance solutions, visit our Geographic Solutions Unemployment System (GUS) page.

Igniting Future Tech Leadership

Mon, 02 Jul 2018 12:07:00 GMT

Each spring, President Paul Toomey awards a scholarship to a Pinellas County high school graduating senior who has excelled in pursuing a computer-related degree.

The scholarship is initially funded by employee contributions and matched by Paul Toomey himself. The scholarship award can be used to pay for credit hours, housing, and curriculum-approved supplies. This year, the recipient, Justin Walker of Lakewood High School, received a scholarship totaling $3,000.

To be considered for the award, each finalist must show above-average achievement and motivation towards advancing their education in a computer-related field.

Walker will pursue a degree in computer programming or application development from the University of North Florida. An exemplary leader throughout his time in high school, Justin shares our appreciation for technological development.

Reaching The Peak: The 2017 Workforce Professional Development Summit

Wed, 25 Oct 2017 17:38:00 GMT

Geographic Solutions recently attended and exhibited at the 2017 Florida Workforce Professional Development Summit, held in Orlando, Florida.

As part of the three-day conference, we hosted two separate meetings. The first, facilitated by Florida Project Manager Charlotte Hearn, spoke to attendees about recent changes in Virtual OneStop®, the internet-based software that powers Employ Florida. In Tuesday's session, Staff Efficiency Business Analyst, Mac McCarthy, showcased several tools that help to not only streamline job centers, but also to track and quantify services they provide.

We'd like to thank all attendees that participated in a session, stopped by our booth to say "hello," or did both! Keep an eye on our Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts to see where you can find our team next.