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“The program has created some great opportunities for me to network within the College of Agriculture and throughout the rest of campus,” says Lanier, who has an impressive résumé of activities in Purdue Agriculture, multicultural programs, campus organizations and service learning. One of the experiences that figures prominently in her journal was a trip Down Under last summer for a new study abroad course, Exploring Australia’s Food and Conservation Systems. “Everyone thought I was Fijian,” she says. “When I got off the plane, people were speaking to me in their native language. I was so flattered because they’re a beautiful group of people.”
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“I can’t even describe how exciting skydiving is,” Lanier said during a study abroad trip Down Under. She topped off the day by going whitewater rafting, too. .
Photo credit: Jamie Lanier |
New horizons
Another change for Lanier came when she switched majors from pre-veterinary medicine to wildlife science. “I’m still chasing my childhood dream to work with animals,” she says. “I’m a city girl at heart, so everything in wildlife science is a new experience. In every class, I’ve learned something new, and I’ve loved it all. I hope it works out.”
The new major also opened the door for a new career. Lanier was accepted into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Student Career Experience Program. Last summer, she interned as a management trainee at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas. She will complete a second internship in Utah this summer, then begin a permanent assignment as a wildlife refuge manager.
Overcoming obstacles
Lanier admits that for all the positive things that have happened, it has been a challenge to fit into an environment that is only 4.5 percent diverse. “There’s not a lot of diversity in my field,” she says. “But the multicultural programs office has been a huge help to those in my situation.” Lanier says that faculty, including Shorna Broussard, an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, have helped her with both personal and academic issues.
Lanier says she tries to take the challenges in stride and considers them life lessons. “For every roadblock I come across, I learn about other people and myself,” she says. “I hope my peers learn something, too.”
Find out more about Jamie Lanier’s experiences on the Boilermaker Life Web page www.boilermakerlife.com.
Contact Olivia Maddox at maddoxol@purdue.edu
Related Sidebar: New course promotes understanding across cultures
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