Jack Coulson Wins the Smouse Award for an Outstanding Student in Evolution

Major:  Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources

Minor or certificate: Minor in Anthropology; Certificate in Environmental Geomatics

Award name: Smouse Award for an Outstanding Student in Evolution

I have always had an interest in wildlife and evolution. Thinking about how life is connected, yet evidently distinct, has always intrigued me, even as a young child. Despite this, it took me a bit of matriculating to end up in this community—meeting others within the major and realizing that this was my opportunity to pursue my lifelong passion was my spark to fully commit to classes.

It could not be overstated how impactful the EENR community was toward helping me achieve my academic and personal goals. Something can be said about group wisdom within this community; knowing I could walk into a classroom, an advisor meeting, or office hours and engage in discourse with both students and faculty who were not only well-educated in, but passionate about, the natural world was something that helped propel me through my college career.

I see for myself a future as a lifelong learner. As I plan out the next few years of my life, learning about the natural world is at the core of my motivations. I hope, at some point, if it has not already happened, to be able to share my learnings of the natural world and evolutionary processes with others and further peoples’ understanding of what evolution is and why it’s important. I know that science, our understanding of this world’s biodiversity, and a sense of inquiry will always be needed for society to make intentional, evidence-backed decisions about human and non-human life, and I hope to use my degree to be a torchbearer for the next generation of learners to care about and for the world we live in.