Forestry Student Spotlight – Derrick Wade
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EmailUndergraduate student Derrick Wade finds his footing in forestry with geographic information systems
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Expected Graduation: May 2023
Favorite hobbies: I like to read often, sometimes language-learning as well.
Interesting Experience in Forestry
I’ve never taken a “class” quite like Forestry Field Methods: quotation marks included, since, for the most part, the course was outside the classroom setting. Being a freshman, I’ve never experienced any course conducted that way, and its execution in the field was more akin to boot camp; every sample and data set had to be collected succinctly, quickly, all the while maintaining relative accuracy.
Why Forestry?
In the latter part of my high school career, I’ve started looking into Geographic Information Systems--I’ve noticed the subject was integral to the field of forestry, so I figured it’d be in my best interest to pursue this major to learn more about this software, as well as natural science as a whole.
Career Goals
I still have a nebulous idea of what my future career would be, but I’ve started college with a predisposition toward becoming a GIS analyst, since that was the line of work I was most familiar with, but my goals are indefinite as of now.
Advice for New Forestry Students
The trees are greener on the other side, but you’d have to work unexpectedly hard to see them; just establish your apical dominance over your obstacles and concentrate on your growth.
