Sophomore Ryan Thomas, working as a counselor in training with the Junior Forestry Academy, achieved 100 percent score on the NAU Challenge Course.

Future in forestry clear
for blind student

Sophomore Ryan Thomas might be blind, but it's not stopping him from seeing a future in forestry.

To help Thomas determine if he could pursue a career among the trees, the Forestry Department and the Ecological Restoration Institute teamed up to provide him hands-on experience during a summer internship.

"I really liked that I got exposed to a bunch of different aspects of forestry such as education, lab and field work," said Thomas, who now has declared forestry as his major. "My favorite part was working in the (Junior Forestry) academy with kids interested in nature."

Thomas participated in various projects during his internship, including assisting botanists in the collection and data entry of information of plants near Mount Trumbull and helping forestry graduate students with a greenhouse study about plant biomass.

"The internship not only helped Ryan obtain forestry-related work experience but also taught NAU faculty, staff and students how much a blind student can do and how to accommodate their abilities," said Robin Long, student services coordinator for the Ecological Restoration Institute. "Each week, he rotated to a different worksite allowing him to get a taste for field research, lab work and even experience life as a camp counselor."