The afternoon session began with a panel of veterinarians, including Dr. Dario Marquez ‘17, residents Dr. Alex Aubrect ‘19 and Dr. Haley Rauch ‘19 and current vet students, Sydney Downs ‘19, and Summer Budaj ‘19. Not only did the panelists share their experiences as vets, but they also discussed the process of applying to graduate school, what to do during interviews, as well as tips for handling the stresses of graduate school. The final panel discussion included a group of graduates working in Conservation: Ecological Health Specialist Keith Cordell ‘03, Western Ecosystems Technologies Consulting Biologist Jesse Hiler ‘04, MDC Conservation Agent Zach Durbin ‘21, United States Army Corps of Engineers (NEPA) Planner Meg Pemberton ‘19, and Missouri Department of Conservation Fisheries Biologists Caleb Pemberton ‘19 and Evan Baker ‘22. The Conservation Biology concentration is growing on the MVC campus, with many graduates going on to attend graduate school and working in a variety of fields. Recent Conservation graduate and MDC Science Assistant Evyn Perkins ‘24 believes the interaction with alumni was very beneficial: “It was great to see folks with a love of MVC expressing the time they spent at Valley, and how it helped them in their professions and continued education 2, 10, and 20 years down the road,” said Perkins. “This instilled confidence in my own time spent at Valley, knowing that those professionals came through the same program that I was about to complete.” According to Associate Biology Professor Michele Reinke, “It was amazing to see the level of engagement between the alumni and the faculty. There were students lined up to ask additional questions between sessions. These alumni were more than willing to share their time, expertise and connections with our current students as a way of giving back to an institution they love.” “Personally, I enjoyed reminiscing with the alumni about fun times we had on our field trips and the realization that our influence as faculty extends well beyond a student's professional life,” said associate professor of biology Waylon Hiler. If there are any other biology alumni that would like to share their experiences with our current students, contact Reinke at reinkem@moval.edu for more information.
Starting top left to right: Sydney Downs '19, Haley Rauch '19, Alex Mills '18, Summer Budaj '19
Parker Towery '95 and David Shwirtz '96
www.moval.edu 15
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