{"id":730,"date":"2020-04-21T21:01:36","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T21:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/?p=730"},"modified":"2020-04-22T17:25:26","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T17:25:26","slug":"student-profile-josh-fix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/2020\/04\/21\/student-profile-josh-fix\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Profile: Josh Fix"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Major: Forest Engineering<\/a>; Year: Junior<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Josh Fix says he’s never seen a photo that accurately portrays just how green the forests in Oregon are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re almost glowing,\u201d he says. \u201cI love the simplicity of the forest; how quiet and different everything is. They provide a breath of fresh air and create wonder in me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fix, who grew up in Minnesota, first fell in love with the forests of Oregon as a child during a visit to the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He initially declared a major in civil engineering at Oregon State before realizing he wanted to work outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI found forest engineering<\/a> and it was the perfect major for me,\u201d he says. \u201cIt allows me to solve the same kind of problems and use applied science, but I get to do it outside where I see a bigger impact because of everything outdoor spaces provide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he\u2019s not studying, Fix works with the College Research Forests<\/a> as a recreation field assistant. He found the position through the college\u2019s job shadow program. He shadowed Ryan Brown, former Research Forests recreation and engagement program manager, and learned about the open position. Fix, who loves recreation as well as engineering, thought the job sounded like a perfect fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do trail maintenance, manage invasive species and repair interpretive materials at our trailheads,\u201d Fix says. \u201cThere is something different every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt McPharlin<\/a>, recreation field coordinator and volunteer coordinator, is Fix\u2019s supervisor, but Fix says he\u2019s more than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMatt has been a great mentor to me,\u201d Fix says. \u201cHe encourages me to think outside the box and get the most out of this work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fix says his favorite part of working in the College Research Forests is interacting with people recreating in the forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like to stop and say \u2018hi,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cI meet interesting people from the community, many of whom have lived in Corvallis for years and have been using the forests longer than I\u2019ve been alive. I like being able to talk to people and share stories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fix says one of his most impactful experiences on the job was interacting with a group of blind and visually impaired hikers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt made me realize how special the College Research Forests are,\u201d he says. \u201cThey are able to enjoy the forest in a completely different way than I do. It made me think about how to make the forest more accessible for differently abled individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he\u2019s not working, Fix utilizes the forests as a student during labs, but enjoys the forest most when he\u2019s able to enjoy it in his free time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m in the forest, I don\u2019t feel the pressure of school,\u201d he says. \u201cI can take a deep breath and dream about my goals to manage and care for a working forest like this one day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A version of this story appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of <\/em>Focus on Forestry, the alumni magazine of the Oregon State University College of Forestry. Learn more about College of Forestry research facilities and collaborations.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Major: Forest Engineering; Year: Junior Josh Fix says he’s never seen a photo that accurately portrays just how green the forests in Oregon are. \u201cThey\u2019re almost glowing,\u201d he says. \u201cI love the simplicity of the forest; how quiet and different everything is. They provide a breath of fresh air and create wonder in me.\u201d Fix,… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3455,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[213751,110163],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-students","category-focus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":736,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730\/revisions\/736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofforestry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}