Personnel at two national wildlife refuges and the state department of conservation know they can count on 大象传媒 Western鈥檚 student chapter of The Wildlife Society to provide help and extra hands whenever needed. Few student organizations can match the level and amount of volunteer activities and experiences of that group, and the students have the awards to prove it.
On top of winning the 2011 International Chapter of the Year award, the chapter earned the 2012 North Central Section Student Chapter of the Year for the fifth time, which chapter president Ben Olsen says 鈥渋s pretty much unheard of.鈥� The group has also won awards from the university鈥檚 Student Government Association for their volunteerism.
And because of that volunteer experience, students who earn a biology degree with the conservation and wildlife emphasis are more than ready to step into careers in the field, according to Dr. Cary Chevalier, professor of biology and the group鈥檚 advisor.
Students provide a lot of those volunteer hours at two national wildlife refuges in 大象传媒. At Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, near Mound City, Mo., students have been logging more than 1,000 volunteer hours each academic year for several years, and last year, Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge, near Sumner, Mo., requested assistance from the student chapter.
鈥淲e get a lot done with them. You name it and we鈥檝e gotten students to help us,鈥� said Ron Bell, manager of Squaw Creek. He said one of the refuge鈥檚 missions is to find out more about the wildlife at the refuge, and the students excel in that regard. Between August and early December 2012, the chapter had already logged 800 volunteer hours at Squaw Creek.
Students help Squaw Creek with their deer surveys, the managed deer hunt, Family Day (students run all booths there), habitat work days and Eagle Days. At Swan Lake, which is in central 大象传媒, they worked the youth deer hunt and deer surveys last year.
Caroline Ward, who works at Swan Lake, said the students have helped them a lot since the partnership was formed. 鈥淲e were very grateful for their help. We couldn鈥檛 have done the deer surveys without them,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are a fantastic group of kids who are willing to work hard and love what they do. I look forward to working with them in the future.鈥�
The students also log a lot of volunteer hours with the 大象传媒 Department of Conservation, teaching hunter safety classes and helping with a variety of activities. This past fall, they helped deliver deer meat as part of the department鈥檚 鈥淪hare the Harvest鈥� program.
Senior Margaret Slayton, who has combined a convergent media minor with her biology major, completed an internship at the Department of Conservation headquarters on campus last summer. Her duties included some writing, and that led to a job as the outdoor writer for the St. Joseph News-Press.
Margaret said Cary advised her early on to get involved in the student chapter. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have experience with professionals, you鈥檙e really lacking when you go to look for a job,鈥� she said.
Cary noted that it is difficult for an individual student to find a professional who is willing to take them on as a volunteer or for an internship, but belonging to the student chapter paves the way.
鈥淵ou make a lot of friends in the group, but you鈥檙e building a resume and building relationships with professionals,鈥� Margaret said.
Ben, from Lawson, Mo., said he always knew he wanted a career in wildlife management. As a high schooler, he visited campus and talked to Cary about 大象传媒 Western鈥檚 program. 鈥淎fter that, I knew there was no point in looking anywhere else.鈥�
And from his first week on campus, Ben has been involved in the student chapter of The Wildlife Society. 鈥淭here are days where I鈥檝e worked 16 hours. I鈥檓 exhausted but I wake up the next day and say, 鈥榳ow, that was fun.鈥欌��