Baton Rouge, La. – Southern University
Urban Forestry and Natural Resources students Simbrey Major and Asija Rice were
named Society of American Foresters (SAF) 2019 Student Diversity Ambassadors
for the organization's national convention in Louisville, Kentucky during
October 30 - November 3, 2019.
The SAF Student Diversity
Ambassador Scholarship Program is designed to promote leadership skills,
engagement, and understanding of the value of the forestry profession. The
scholarship included the convention’s registration, an opportunity to
participate in an exclusive networking luncheon, and a $450 stipend. The
students were also paired with a career natural resource professional who served
as a mentor throughout the convention.
To apply for the scholarship, the
students had to submit an application; be interested in forestry, natural
resources, terrestrial ecosystems and/or other related fields as a career; and
interested in encouraging and promoting a culture of inclusion within the
profession.
Major, a graduate student, and Rice,
a senior undergraduate student, competed against nearly 40 applicants from the
nation’s top universities - such as Yale and Penn State - and were selected as
two of the top 10 students who received the scholarship.
Major is conducting her master's
degree thesis research through a NASA funded competitive project that
quantifies the carbon flux of the forests and wetlands in coastal Louisiana.
Her positive attitude and strong work ethic both in the field and in the lab,
has earned praise from her professors at Southern University and project
collaborators at Louisiana State University. Dr. Zhu Ning, project director and
thesis committee chair, recommended Simbrey to the SAF for the scholarship and
to the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) for its 2018 Student
Ambassador Scholarship. Simbrey won both.
Rice is equally stellar.
Currently, she serves as the SAF SU Student Chapter President. She demonstrated
her leadership skills by organizing the chapter’s activities such as workshops,
community service, fundraising, and training events. Asija has demonstrated a
significant and award-worthy commitment to the chapter by being a role model
for other students and serving as a well - organized and energetic leader with
a tremendous passion for forestry and natural resources. Dr. Kamran Abdollahi,
the faculty advisor of the SAF SU Student Chapter, recommended Asija to the SAF
for the scholarship.
Major and Rice were joined by
twenty-two other participants from within the College of Agricultural, Family
and Consumer Sciences’ Department of
Urban Forestry and Natural Resources. Southern University’s largest
participation to date at the SAF National Convention.
The participation was made
available through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National
Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) McIntyre-Stennis Project on Enhancing
Graduate Education and Research, the USDA Forest Service’s Urban Forestry
Enhancement Project, and the USDA-NIFA Capacity Building Grant Program.
The participants included four
faculty members - Drs. Kamran Abdollahi, Vanessa Ferchaud, Zhu Ning, and Yadong
Qi; 13 graduate students - Eman Dakkak, Uday Bhuma, John Namwamba, Darrell
Street, Brian Phillips, Caroline Akinrinwoye, Okwusi Jane, Joyce Peralta,
Lakshmi Dasari, Dawn Crosby, Wilbert Thomas, Hande Suslu, and Tyrus Georgetown;
and five undergraduate students - Aaliyah Royston, Brooke Mcfarland, Jordan
Davis, Rodney Purdy, and Terrell Lewis.
A total of 16 presentations
including five oral and 11 poster presentations were made by the faculty and
graduate students at the convention. The topics of the presentations covered
the up-to-date research in the areas of urban forest ecophysiology, ecology,
ecosystem analysis, social science and education, forest fire management,
GIS/remote sensing, bioenergy, coastal research, and global climate change.
The department’s faculty and
students represent the diversity and excellence in urban forestry education and
research and drew the convention spotlight from among more than 1,400 attendees
from more than 70 colleges and universities and professional entities around
the nation.
A video featuring highlights from
the Department of Urban Forestry and Natural Resources during the SAF National
Convention is available
here.
###
