Hello, my name is Sara and I am in my second year of Forestry. I grew up in a family that valued the outdoors. We went hiking, camping, fishing and so much more and I loved every second of it. Throughout high school I knew that I wanted to do something outdoors and with animals but I had no idea about what I wanted to do specifically. I have always been very environmentally conscious but somehow found myself working in the lab at a pulp mill a few months after I graduated. I quickly began to realize these industries that I thought negatively about are essential for society today and the people there were working to limit their impact way more than the government regulated. Soon I became very interested in the environmental operations and quickly advanced as far as I could in that position. I realized that I needed to go to school so that I would be able to advance in my career choice.

(picture from http://iversonforest.com/)

I am excited to begin this career because I aim to educate people on the forest industry. It is a common misconception that forestry is an evil industry that wishes to destroy our forests. In reality, foresters are more concerned about the environment than people believe. This is our career, if there are no forests then we do not have a job. Communication is key for this career objective. I need to learn how to apply my knowledge and inform/correct the misconception of the forestry industry today. It is vital that I learn to communicate my message clearly so that society can begin to form a new understanding of forestry. For an article written about public perception of the forestry industry click here

I agree with Meaghan in that communication is an essential tool for every individual in any industry to posses. Although we are in different fields of work and have had different experiences we have developed a need for the skill of communication. While working at the pulp mill I had to deal with many forms of communication and confrontation and it is important to know how to deal with everything that comes at you in a professional manner. Management at the pulp mill relied on me to inform them of potential situations and ideas on how to improve our process and it was very important that I was able to clearly explain my thoughts and ideas. I am very excited to learn new methods through this ALES 204 course and I hope I will be able to integrate social media into my future career.