Geography alumnus Nate Cherok launches career in environmental consulting

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Nate Cherok walked into the Penn State career fair during his senior year in 2024, he was not expecting to leave with the job that would launch his career.

But one conversation moved quickly from introduction to interview process, he said, and by the time he graduated later that year with his degree in geography, Cherok had found where he wanted to start his career.

“I went to the career fair mainly to get some practice talking with employers,” Cherok said. “But once I met the team at ALL4 and learned more about their role, it started to feel less like practice and more like the right place to begin.”

Today, Cherok is a project scientist at ALL4, an environmental consulting firm, headquartered in PA and with offices and staff located across the Americas and Europe, where he focuses on air quality permitting and strategy and helps bring GIS into a wider range of projects. His work includes emissions calculations, regulatory review, permit applications and air dispersion modeling.

Cherok said the variety of that work is one of the things he likes most about the job.

“My favorite part is being able to work on a bunch of different projects at the same time,” he said. “It helps the days go by fast, but it’s also good to get exposed to different types of projects, different clients and different areas, because they all have their own specific nuances.”

Cherok said he was looking for work that felt grounded in environmental issues and had a clear purpose beyond the technical details. At ALL4, he said, that purpose often comes through regulations designed to protect communities and the environment.

“I was looking for something that was environmentally focused and could have impact,” he said. “A lot of what we do is checking all the boxes to make sure something is going to be okay for the community and within the parameters of current environmental regulations. Having that kind of purpose behind all the analysis and calculations is a big part of why I enjoy it.”

One area he especially enjoys is air quality dispersion modeling, which examines how emissions from a facility may move beyond a site and whether those impacts stay within regulatory thresholds. It is technical work, but for Cherok it is also one of the clearest examples of how his Penn State training connects to the work he does now.

“It feels like it meshes the most with the spatial analysis and the things I enjoyed doing in school,” Cherok said.

He said that connection goes back to what first drew him to geography.

Cherok came to Penn State with several interests but no single path in mind. He cared about environmental issues, but he also liked math, analytics and graphic design. Geography gave him a place to build across those interests instead of choosing only one.

Cherok said that breadth became one of the most valuable parts of his Penn State experience. Through classes, research and projects, he built experience in environmental analysis, data work, cartography and communication, skills he says he now uses across the technical and applied side of his work.

Some of the preparation that stayed with him most, he said, came through hands-on experiences outside the classroom. He pointed to his work as a cartography assistant with Cynthia Brewer, professor of geography and associate dean for faculty affairs in information sciences and technology, on the third edition of “Designing Better Maps” as one of the most important parts of his undergraduate years. He helped update and redesign figures for the book, a long-term project that, according to Cherok, strengthened both his technical skills and his confidence.

“Working with Cindy Brewer on the new edition of her book gave me a lot of confidence,” Cherok said. “I went into my job feeling strong in ArcGIS, comfortable producing maps and doing spatial analysis, and confident that the final product would be solid because of how she coached me through that work.”

He also credited research experiences with Bronwen Powell, associate professor of geography, African studies and anthropology, including an internship and an independent study, with helping him build habits he still relies on.

“A lot of that came from my work with Bronwen, both supporting her research and organizing my own project,” Cherok said. “It taught me how to work through big datasets methodically, make sure the calculations are sound and document everything clearly, which is a big part of what I do now.”

Coursework added another layer. Cherok said a writing-intensive course with Alan Taylor, professor emeritus of geography, helped him develop the kind of technical writing he now uses in consulting and regulatory documents, where clarity and accuracy matters more than style.

Other classes in sustainability, environmental justice and data analysis broadened the knowledge base he brings into his projects. He said a special topics course in environmental data modeling with Shujie Wang, associate professor of geography, was especially useful because it introduced the kind of computational thinking he now uses in modeling work.

Taken together, Cherok said, those experiences gave him more than subject knowledge. They also gave him repeated chances to apply what he was learning before graduation.

“You get the knowledge, then you get to apply the knowledge in a safe space through research and internships,” Cherok said. “That sets you up so you’re not wide-eyed when you’re asked to actually execute a project.”

Cherok said that preparation helped ease the move from Penn State to full-time work. He joined ALL4 after graduating in 2024 and has since advanced from staff scientist to project scientist, taking on more responsibility in both project development and quality review.

Looking back, Cherok said he sees that combination of breadth and applied experience as one of Penn State geography’s biggest strengths. The program, he said, did not force him to narrow his interests too early. Instead, it gave him room to explore while building skills he could use in different kinds of work.

“Having that interdisciplinary experience and background really sets you up for success,” Cherok said. “Penn State’s Department of Geography does a great job for people who want to study different things and don’t know exactly what they want to focus on yet. You can always pivot based on the different things you’ve learned through the program.”

Cherok said that is also the advice he would offer current students. He encouraged students to take advantage of the range the program offers, get involved in research, pursue internships and go to the career fair, even if they are still figuring out what comes next.

Editor's note: One million Penn State degrees means there are one million unique Penn State stories. This is a sample of one of the many ways Penn Staters are using their degrees to change lives, elevate impact and make a difference.