Sarah Housel Wins the Roger Locandro Award for Outstanding Student in Natural Resources

Major:  Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources

Minor or certificate:

• Minor in Evolutionary Anthropology
• Certificate in Environmental Geomatics

Award name: Roger Locandro Award for Outstanding Student in Natural Resources

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to spend my life in nature. I was the kid who always opted for climbing trees or collecting funky rocks over video games or barbie dolls; the one that would burst into tears as a fellow classmate squished a bug, laughing at its suffering. When I came to Rutgers, I started as an animal science major – I knew I wanted to do something with animals, I just wasn’t sure what. Then I went on a Cornell Lab of Ornithology birding trip with my mom, and I knew right away that my future would be spent in the woods, a clunky pair of binoculars around my neck and a notebook in hand.

Once I learned that the EENR department had an ornithology class, I fell in love, and rapidly changed my major. These four years that I’ve spent in this department have been full of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Three study abroad trips, two internships, and countless field classes later, I am ecstatic to begin my life as an ecologist, and I am grateful every single day for the outstanding faculty that have given me the courage to make my dreams a reality.

This summer I will be returning to the Mercer County Wildlife Center as an intern supervisor, where I spend my days bottle-feeding infant raccoons and bandaging injured white-tailed deer fawns. In the short-term future, I hope to find a job with the National Park Service or U.S. Fish & Wildlife where I can travel the country and help strengthen our ecosystems in any way I can. In the long-term, I hope to pursue a PhD in ecology and conservation; my ultimate dream is to return to Kenya to continue my research on the vulnerable De Brazza’s monkeys.

My time at Rutgers, and with the EENR department in particular, has changed my life. Despite everything going on in the world, I am excited for my future, and I feel confident that there will always be good people out there fighting to make a difference – and thanks to my experiences here, I know that I can be one of those people, too.