For students at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) interested in volunteering, working with wildlife and getting networking opportunities, the TAMUK Wildlife Society is a club for you to check out.
The TAMUK Wildlife Society has been an active club on campus for more than a decade.
Over the years it has won a few awards such as The Wildlife Society Student Chapter of the Year and Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society Student Chapter of the Year. The club focuses on being “A professional student organization created to help members become better wildlife professionals through educational experiences in the field and classroom,” the club’s Facebook page said.
Throughout each semester, the club hosts various events that allow club members to do volunteer work, work with wildlife animals, hear lectures from professionals in the field, and get job and internship opportunities.
“We do like a little bit of everything. We do Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) certification courses. We also do a lot of hands-on training like trailer backing up skills. We teach people how to fly fish. We work closely with the Caesar Kleberg [Wildlife Research] Institute and we work with their grad students and they take us on deer captures…We volunteer a lot with the Quail Coalition.
“We do education outreach. We go visit schools between first graders to seniors and we give them a sum of what we do,” the club president Autumn Sheedy said.
By participating in the various events the Wildlife Society hosts, a plethora of job and internship opportunities can be opened up. Both Sheedy and the Vice-President Lori Massey, express that being in the club has personally provided them a pathway to receiving jobs. The club treasurer Megan Granger shares the same sentiment.
“When I first joined the society as a freshman, I was able to gain a lot of volunteer work and network with some guest speakers from our meetings. Without that opportunity to do those things or speak to some of those people, I would not have had the experience to get summer internships or work for grad students at TAMUK. I hope to try to give incoming freshmen those same opportunities as I was able to take advantage of,” Granger said.
The club has many events coming up this semester. One is a crawfish boil during which students can get all-you-can-eat crawfish for $15. On April 27, they will be participating in a Wildlife Day at J.K. Northway. The club will also be hosting a photo contest during which participants can submit wildlife photos. The contest winner will receive $50.
The club does require paying dues, however, those who pay receive a Wildlife Society T-shirt and are given the opportunity to receive a scholarship which is given to two members who are actively involved.
The club is open to all TAMUK students, not just those who study wildlife. The club hosts meetings every other Thursday. At the meetings, there is a social hour during which members get food and do different activities. The meeting also has special guest lectures occasionally. To see what events the club has upcoming and when the next meeting is visit the club’s Facebook page @tamuk.wildlifesociety.