NMSU Chapter members receive scholarships

At the April 21 Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology Department awards banquet of the New Mexico State University, Wildlife Services recognized the four 2016 Joe Skeen Memorial Scholarship recipients. Alan May, CWB^® and Wildlife Services director in New Mexico, explained that the recipients also will serve summer internships.

This year one returning student, Adam Baca, will be working at the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) field station in Millville, Utah, for the summer. Three new interns will work the summer on operations programs: Jade Reese in Illinois; Abraham Sanchez, in Arizona; and John Martinez in New Mexico. All four are members of the NMSU TWS Student Chapter.

At the April 21 awards banquet, from left: John Martinez, Abraham Sanchez, Alan May, Adam Baca, Jade Reese, and Rudy Fajarso, WS district supervisor.

“Students selected for this scholarship and internship program personify Congressman Skeen’s traits of service to country, a good work ethic and good morals, explained May. “We are particularly excited about working with these outstanding students to further their education and develop their careers.”

Past Skeen scholarship recipients currently work with WS in at least seven states. Wildlife Services uses the scholarship and its relationship with this Hispanic-serving land-grant institution to increase its ability to recruit under-represented groups to its staff. Additional WS programs are offered at Lincoln University and Tuskegee University.

Joe Skeen Memorial Scholarship recipients receive $1,500 per semester, summer employment with housing provided by Wildlife Services, and travel paid to and from the summer duty station. The Joe Skeen Memorial Scholarship was established in 2003 to honor former New Mexico Congressman Joe Skeen, a rancher and agriculture industry advocate, who served 11 terms in the U. S. House of Representatives between 1981 and 2003.  He had Parkinson’s disease and passed away in 2003.  The Wildlife Services relationship and internship program with NMSU dates back more than 40 years.

Wildlife Services is a Strategic Partner of TWS.