Tuesday, December 17

Two Urban Forestry students named SAF 2019 Diversity Ambassadors


Top photo: Standing from left, Asija Rice and Simbrey Major, both students in the Department of Urban Forestry and Natural Resources in the College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences, were named Society of American Foresters 2019 Student Diversity Ambassadors. Bottom photo: Twenty-four faculty and students from the Department of Urban Forestry and Natural Resources participated in the Society of American Foresters National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.
Urban Forestry Faculty and Students participated in the Society of American Foresters National Convention


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.


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