A chance encounter led Michelle Dvoracek to the School of Natural Resources.
"When I was in high school, I was active in FFA and did natural resources speaking all four years," Dvoracek said.
During her junior and senior years, Dvoracek advanced to the state level.
"Before I went to State FFA Convention my junior year, my dad had me go to a prescribed burn workshop to better prepare me for the judges since my topic was about prescribed burning," she said.
While at the workshop, Dvoracek met a woman working as a wildlife biologist.
"I talked with her a bit, and found out more about her job and how she majored in fisheries and wildlife at UNL," Dvoracek said. "As I was talking with her, I realized that I really liked what she did and wouldn’t mind doing that someday. So I applied to UNL and majored in fisheries and wildlife."
Now a senior set to graduate in May 2015, Dvoracek has made the most of her time at SNR – from studying abroad in New Zealand last year to assisting a grad student with data extraction to testing out hands-on sampling techniques at UNL's Cedar Point Biological Station.
"SNR has educated me on several issues that many people often have questions about and now I can share what I have learned with others," she said. "One of my favorite classes in college has been the Wildlife Management Techniques course. We learned real-life applications of how to manage many kinds of wildlife."
Larkin Powell, professor of conservation biology and animal ecology, taught that course and said that Dvoracek represents the school well.
"Michelle is a steady student who is dedicated to her goals," Powell said. "She has worked to get experiences on her resume, while maintaining a top-notch academic record."
Dvoracek's academic achievements are evidenced by her being selected as the 2014-2015 recipient of SNR's Wiegers-Maunder scholarship. Established in 2009, the scholarship is for students pursuing a fisheries and wildlife major or studying the related fields of water and climate sciences.
In addition to her fisheries and wildlife major, Dvoracek also has minors in agronomy and water science.
"The scholarship has helped me out so I don't have to get an off-campus job to help pay for school," she said. "This makes it so I can spend more time focusing on my classwork."
With graduation approaching, Dvoracek is concentrating on her professional goals, which happen to reflect her experience at that prescribed burn workshop all those years ago.
"I would like to find a job as a wildlife biologist in central Nebraska," she said. "I want to work with farmers and ranchers to help them preserve the natural resources we have while still making sure they are able to produce enough food to feed this growing world."
— Mekita Rivas, Natural Resources