Student Engagement Program 2024 Fellows Prepare for Summer Meeting

The inaugural cohort for WAFWA’s Student Engagement Program has been selected. Twenty students from around the West competed for the six available positions. Congratulations to our 2024 cohort!

• Jade Collins, Sophomore at Colorado State University majoring in in Biological Sciences and Computer Science
• Kennedy Funa, Junior at Oklahoma State University majoring in Natural Resource Ecology and Management
• Terra Martinez, Senior at New Mexico State University majoring in Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology
• Lily Olmo, M.S. Student at California Polytechnic University Humboldt in Natural Resources, concentration in Fisheries Biology
• Elizabeth Painter, PhD Candidate at University of Montana in the Wildlife Biology Program
• Sierra Williams, Junior at Prairie View A&M University majoring in Agriculture/Animal and Food Science

These student fellows will spend Monday, June 3 in a professional development workshop. They will then participate in the WAFWA Summer Meeting to receive first-hand experience in committee and working group meetings where high priority fish and wildlife management topics are discussed. They will be interacting with Directors, Deputies, Chiefs of Wildlife, Chiefs of Fisheries, R3 Coordinators, Biologists from a variety of specialties, and other professionals from our 24 U.S. and Canadian member fish and wildlife agencies.

The WAFWA Access and Engagement Committee is excited to host these student fellows. This group will provide mentors to help the students prepare for and navigate the conference to ensure that they understand the ins and outs of conference participation and that they get the most out of this experience.

For more information about the program, visit WAFWA’s Student Engagement Program webpage.