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Fisheries and Wildlife major Josh Wisdom attributes his success to "just showing up."

As the 2008 School of Natural Resources Student Council President, Wisdom has earned plenty of responsibility for his participation in campus organizations, volunteer programs and natural resource management agencies.

His involvement began in the student chapter of The Wildlife Society. "It was something to do," Wisdom said. "I just started showing up."

TWS served as a springboard, earning Wisdom a seat on the SNR Student Council during his first year at the University of Missouri. He served as TWS chapter president in 2006-2007, before filling the president's role in the Student Council for 2008.

Wisdom has taken advantage of many opportunities during his undergraduate experience, participating in both research projects and student organizations.

"TWS has definitely been the big thing that got me into stuff and kept me busy," Wisdom said. "It seemed like I fit in better with people in the School of Natural Resources than a lot of the people I went to high school with."

Wisdom's decision to leave his hometown of Sikeston, Mo. to study fisheries and wildlife management at MU was heavily influenced by his older brother, Jered.

"I came to MU because [Jered] went to MU," Wisdom said. "I saw how cool the things were that he was doing, and I wanted to do them, too."

Wisdom followed his older brother's footsteps to MU, then into the TWS chapter presidency.

"My brother was TWS president, too," he said. "My brother's done everything I've done first, but second place has worked out alright for me. I don't really feel like I have big shoes to fill or anything."

A willingness to work hard and a humble attitude

A willingness to work hard and a humble attitude were some of the first things Laura Hertel noticed about the younger Wisdom brother. Hertel advises the SNR Ambassadors group, of which Josh Wisdom is a second-year member.

Wisdom's responsibilities as an ambassador for the School of Natural Resources include working with prospective and new students, as well as alumni.

"He's so helpful," Hertel said.

At the Welcome Back Barbeque he volunteered to grill the whole time, and during the New Student Breakfast, Wisdom chatted with freshmen and faculty about both his experiences and the opportunities available to SNR students.

"He does a great job with the students," Hertel said.

Job experience, research and leadership roles

Wisdom also followed his older brother's footsteps to work for the Missouri Department of Conservation. He currently works on wildlife habitat management projects in the Louter Valley District, of east-central Missouri.

However, his job experience is not limited to MDC. Wisdom has worked for the U.S. Forest Service and the USDA. He has also contributed to two campus-based research projects; studying raccoons for a fisheries and wildlife graduate student, and salamanders in his own undergraduate research experience.

Job experience has taught Wisdom a few things about his career options, too. "You can get paid for doing things that you'd do for free," he said. "The career field for natural resources is much broader than people give it credit for – you don't have to have a job you don't like."

Wisdom also credits his leadership roles in TWS and the Student Council with preparing him for a career in natural resources. The groups have helped him learn about working with people that have very different interests and backgrounds, as well as understanding everything that goes into planning events, he said.

"It lets you realize how difficult it can be to manage people," he said. "It doesn't make me want to be in upper management, but it doesn't make me afraid of it either."

Given the option, Wisdom would like to translate his more than 100 volunteer hours in the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service into a full-time position.

He has a strong interest in wildlife damage management, and experience with both feral hogs and geese, he said. "One opportunity in Missouri would be keeping wildlife off the runways at airports."

"That's the kind of stuff that I'd do for free, but that some people actually get paid to do."

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Fisheries and Wildlife major

Posted February 2009
Story Source: Christine Tew