- Posted 12/15/2000
Contact: Andrew Svec, 218-281-8435
UMC’s Spinler Named Minnesota Wildlife Society’s Student Conservationist of The Year
Emily Spinler, a senior wildlife management student at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC), was highly honored at the annual meeting of the Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society, held recently at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis. The organization named Spinler “Student Conservationist of the Year.” She was selected from a competitive pool of students majoring in wildlife management, biology, or ecology and representing all of Minnesota’s colleges and universities.
“We are delighted with this wonderful award for Emily as well as the recognition it brings UMC and other natural resource majors,” noted Dr. Dan Svedarsky of UMC’s Natural Resources Department. Spinler’s award marks the third time in the past four years that the recipient of this award has been a UMC student. Shane Osbourne won the award in 1999, and Myron Weltikol in 1997.
“I
am deeply honored by this award and grateful to the wonderful instruction
and mentoring I have received at UMC,” remarked Spinler, pictured at
right with her parents Kevin and Joyce Spinler.
“Students matter here, and there are no limits to what you can
achieve and the opportunities that become available as you work with your
professors.”
Spinler is a native of Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, where she was active in 4-H and FFA and was class Valedictorian. She will be one of the first graduates of UMC’s wildlife management program. The new program was officially launched in the fall of 2000 with the addition of a new wildlife professor, Dr. John Loegering, formerly of Oregon State University.
In addition to her excellent academic performance at UMC, Spinler finds time to volunteer for conservation and environmental education projects. In the spring of 2000, she was co-recipient of the Norman Pankratz Conservation Award, the highest honor given by UMC’s Natural Resources Department to recognize conservation commitment and service. She is also active in UMC’s Natural Resources Club.
During summers, Spinler has worked for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as a park technician; for the University of Minnesota’s Northwest Research and Outreach Center as a field researcher on prairie birds; and most recently for Humboldt State University studying the endangered, spotted owl in Arizona. After graduation, she plans to pursue graduate research studies in some aspect of wildlife management.