By Elena Moffit<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the winter of 2023, Jose Torres became the first Oregon State University student to complete an honors degree online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask him how he got here, and his story might surprise you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNobody in my family\u2019s ever gone to college or university, so it wasn\u2019t even in my mind. We\u2019re all working class people, and so that was my thing,\u201d he says<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Torres is a U.S. Navy veteran who joined the service straight out of high school and did three deployments \u2014 while being stationed in Japan, San Diego and Guam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was going to become an aircraft mechanic. That was my goal,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while stationed in Guam, he saw another possible path for himself when he decided to volunteer at the Guam Wildlife Refuge. There, he worked with the local Chamorro people to help support native species in the refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was just like \u2014 \u2018How do I get your job? I like aircraft and everything, but what are YOU?\u2019 I just had no idea this was a possibility or a career choice that somebody could get paid for,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So when his contract with the Navy came to an end, Torres applied to the fisheries, wildlife, and conservation sciences bachelor\u2019s program<\/a> at Oregon State.<\/p>\n\n\n Alongside the FWCS program, Torres decided to enroll in the Oregon State Honors College<\/a>, which is known for high levels of faculty engagement and creating research opportunities for undergraduate students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI read that you would have an opportunity to do a research project. I have a lot of experience with mechanical work, but it was nothing wildlife-related,\u201d says Torres. \u201cSo I wanted to build my knowledge base.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Torres reached out to Dr. Clinton Epps<\/a> to ask if he would be willing to be his honors advisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI got very lucky,\u201d Torres says. \u201cMy honors thesis is on bighorn sheep morphology, and the professor I worked with, Dr. Epps \u2014 he\u2019s one of the biggest desert bighorn researchers in America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While luck may have played a small role in a research opportunity being available, Dr. Epps gives Torres a lot of credit for his clear communication and follow-through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really appreciated the time Jose took to make his early approach coherent. When you have so many professional interactions with people, clear communication matters. It\u2019s a sign that someone actually took the time,\u201d says Dr. Epps<\/p>\n\n\n\n Torres started at Oregon State in the fall of 2019 and like a lot of people, his plans were upended by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Two terms into his degree program, he decided to move back to Arizona to be close to family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where many people might have taken this as a moment to slow down or stop out, Torres decided to continue earning his honors degree online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Determined to do in-person research while pursuing his degree online, Torres also applied for a VIEW Fellowship<\/a> through Oregon State\u2019s Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences. Through the fellowship, he received funding to spend two months in the Mojave Desert during the summer of 2021, assisting Dr. Epps with bighorn sheep research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were collecting fecal samples and behavioral information, so we had to go out and track them,\u201d explains Torres. \u201cWe were hiking 6-8 miles a day. I got a lot of great experience from that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Torres went on to write and defend his honors thesis<\/a> on how climate impacts bighorn sheep morphology. To do so, he used a dataset from the California Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, which has collected data from bighorn sheep captures since 1978. Dr. Epps continued to advise Torres remotely throughout his honors research and thesis, despite being in different states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe bulk of his research for his thesis was cleaning, sorting and figuring out how to deal with this enormous data set, so we met online pretty much weekly for a year and a half,\u201d says Dr. Epps. \u201cIt was really a joy because Jose is so positive, he\u2019s so hardworking, and he follows through so well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While working and completing his honors degree, Torres learned about a United States Geological Services fellowship, and Dr. Epps gladly nominated him for the opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI did three interviews,\u201d says Torres, \u201cand when I got to the Burmese python opportunity in Florida, I said, \u2018I\u2019m going to be honest with you, this is what I want to do. Pick me.\u2019 It turned out to be such a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That great experience would lead Torres to an even cooler opportunity \u2014 when his fellowship ended, the USGS offered him a full-time position in Florida, helping to combat invasive Burmese pythons throughout the Everglades and south Florida. In addition to helping with ongoing scientific research with USGS, Torres will help train the next round of interns, teaching them how to do captures, autopsies and necropsies as well as how to use outdoor vehicles like swamp buggies and airboats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Torres has advice for future students who decide to pursue this Honors College opportunity online. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna tell you it\u2019s easy. I mean, I\u2019ve been working hard\u2026 But it\u2019s been a very rewarding experience.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n When asked how the Oregon State Honors College helped prepare him, Torres praised the support of his advisor and mentor, Dr. Epps, but he also spoke highly of the Honors College coursework outside of his fisheries, wildlife, and conservation sciences major coursework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1811\/files\/2023\/04\/Jose-Torres-800x450-A-630.jpg\")
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