The goal of any geospatial workshop must be centered on inspiring its participants to think spatially. Only then will we achieve the goals of NSF-ATE! At the BCC Geospatial Center of the CUNY CREST Institute [BGCCCI] we are invested in fostering spatial thinking. The inquiry based and place based hands-on exercises are strategically designed to foster spatial thinking. Whether they are mapping service areas or service demand, or performing multi-criteria analyses the hands-on exercises prompt them to think spatially. The medley of spatial and image analyses with specific focus on feature extraction techniques lays the foundations for deep learning, AI, data mining, spatial inquiry and cognition. BGCCCI will be offering the summer workforce internship program or SWIP where participants will be paired with expert mentors for engaging in cutting-edge industry relevant research over a period of 16 weeks. Our proactive collaborations with the industry will offer a pathways for the skilled BGCCCI technicians supported by great programs like NSF-ATE and NASA-EONS.