Forestry major with a wildlife management concentration

My name is Addison Dodd and I currently pursuing my junior year at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas as a forestry major with a wildlife management concentration. Being born and raised in deep east Texas, my love and commitment to the outdoors quickly became my passion. Why may you ask? Because to me, it’s about finding the joys, the challenges, the elements, the surprises, and the comforts that are accompanied by the great outdoors. At a very young age, I was introduced to these aspects through activities such as hunting, fishing, outdoor photography, camping, etc. However, my favorite of these has always been hunting. So even as a child, I understood the importance of wildlife management and later determined that it was time to not only make it a hobby but a career. In doing so, I have spent numerous hours furthering hunter education by participating in the Texas Wildlife Association youth hunt program as a hunting guide for the past three years. My goal is to share my love for the outdoors with the youth of the community to better the future of wildlife management.

In August of 2021, I received an associate’s degree from Angelina College and decided to transfer to SFA to begin working towards my bachelor’s degree. During my time at SFA, I’ve learned how vast the variety of vegetation, wildlife, and natural resources truly are in the outdoors. As I continue to study, I hope to further my education in how to preserve and protect these natural resources for future generations.

During the summer of 2022, I completed the required 6-week “field station” program that provided me with basic field experience within the subjects of study. I also attended a 2-week field ecology class taught in the Great Smoky Mountains. For the summer of 2023, I plan to take an internship opportunity to gain more advanced field experience and procedures.