UNR Student Chapter promotes local engagement, diversity

Fall marks an exciting new beginning for the UNR Student Chapter and its new board. This year, the club’s goal is to increase membership through outreach and educational activities. The club has also added a new position, Social Media Liaison, in order to keep our members well-informed about all upcoming events.

Thanks to the high attendance of wildlife professionals at the barbecue mixer this September, several guest speakers will be making an appearance at UNR club meetings. This will give students an insight on what jobs are available and what they can do while they’re still in college to achieve their future goals.

Several UNR board members have attended workshops offered by the Western Section of The Wildlife Society and have shared their experiences with the club. By sharing these experiences, we hope to encourage students to participate in both the Western Section and the Nevada Chapter.

Several UNR Student Chapter members participate in a fall hike. ©UNR Student Chapter

Another important goal for this year’s student chapter is to increase cultural, ethical, and racial diversity within the field of wildlife. Part of our efforts has included volunteering at the Center for Student Cultural Diversity at UNR. Our hope is to reach out to future college students and encourage them to pursue careers in wildlife.

The club has already held true to its word to be more active by planning several meetings, hosting group hikes, participating in UNR Field Day, and hosting “study group” socials to help prepare for the student conclave in March. UNR brought home second place in the Quiz Bowl portion of conclave last year; our goal for this year is to bring home first.

Our upcoming events include volunteering at the Fall Fish Festival in South Lake Tahoe, participating in a mock interview event hosted by the UNR Range Club, and continuing to offer our services wherever they are needed. As always, we encourage Nevada Chapter members to interact with the student chapter – whether it’s to recruit volunteers or plan future events. We can be reached by email at unr@tws-west.org.

This article originally appeared in the Nevada Chapter of TWS’ Fall/Winter 2016 newsletter, which can be downloaded here.