Senior Vanessa Mckinney is passionate about forestry, natural resources and conservation.
The Eureka, California, native came to Oregon State to study forest management, but after participating in field school decided – with the help of an advisor – that the natural resources major would be a better fit.
“Coming to Oregon felt like a new opportunity for me,” Mckinney said. “Here at Oregon State, and in the state of Oregon in general, everyone encourages students to get out into the woods and into the field and find out how we can make a change for the better.”
Mckinney stays as active as she can, participating in a variety of hands-on learning opportunities.
During summer 2018, Mckinney worked with a graduate student to reopen the greenhouse at the Oak Creek building on the Oregon State campus. The neglected space is now an active research facility again.
“I helped graduate students get seedlings going,” Mckinney says. “It was really rewarding to make that area a productive space for research again.”
Mckinney also participated in the Mentored Employment Program (MEP), which provides College of Forestry undergraduate students paid opportunities to work with faculty members on research projects or to gain field experience.
Mckinney worked with Carlos Gonzalez-Benecke, assistant professor, and Maxwell Wightman, faculty research assistant, on a project for the Vegetation Management Research Cooperative (VMRC). She said that before working with the VMRC, she began to question her future and interest in natural resources and forest management.
“I was wondering if I really wanted to be here,” she says. “But getting into the field with the VMRC gave me a new sense of confidence. I gained real experience with real data that I knew was going to be applied. This added to my OSU experience.”
Mckinney’s data ended up in the lab, and will eventually have real applications for land managers and other scientists.
“Working with her as a mentor through the program was a wonderful experience,” Wightman says. “I worked closely with her in the field and saw her grow in skill and confidence. Her work with the VMRC was so exceptional that we immediately hired her as a student employee once her time with MEP ended.”
In her spare time, Mckinney also volunteers with Oregon State Community Service and has participated in the Polar Plunge event for the Special Olympics. She plans to attend graduate school and eventually hopes to work with children and youth, teaching them about forestry, natural resources and conservation.
“As a child, I was captivated by the outdoors at an early age,” Mckinney says. “If we captivate children at an early age, they can become leaders in managing and protecting our natural resources for the future.”
A version of this story appeared in the spring 2019 issue of Focus on Forestry, the alumni magazine of the Oregon State University College of Forestry. Learn more about our undergraduate programs here.
