{"id":51000,"date":"2024-05-28T10:37:27","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T15:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/?p=51000"},"modified":"2024-09-23T16:24:23","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T21:24:23","slug":"four-tarleton-state-students-to-study-wildlife-conservation-in-the-arctic-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/four-tarleton-state-students-to-study-wildlife-conservation-in-the-arctic-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Tarleton State Students To Study Wildlife Conservation in the Arctic Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Four Tarleton State University students will travel to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska this summer as part of an advanced leadership experience program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"roam
From left: Aukira Burks, Joshua Smith, Ladavon Springs-Hargrove and Mercedez Concepcion will explore the Arctic Village, Atigun Pass and Galbraith Lake as part of a partnership between Tarleton State\u2019s Lozano Long Division of Global, Community and First-gen Initiatives and Love is King\u2019s Operation ROAM (Rapid Ongoing Advance Missions).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aukira Burks, Mercedez Concepcion, Joshua Smith and Ladavon Springs-Hargrove will embark June 18 to explore the Arctic Village, Atigun Pass and Galbraith Lake on a 10-day excursion, the result of a partnership between Tarleton State\u2019s Lozano Long Division of Global, Community and First-gen Initiatives and Love is King\u2019s Operation ROAM (Rapid Ongoing Advance Missions).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The expedition promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the heart of the Alaskan Arctic, where participants will be invited guests of the local Chief, said Dr. Dana Fitzpatrick, Director for Civic and Community Connections for the Division of Global, Community and First-gen Initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur world is so interconnected, and it\u2019s important to learn how about the contributions of wildlife to food, medicine and other resources,\u201d Dr Fitzpatrick said. \u201cIt\u2019s our responsibility to safeguard these spaces for ourselves and future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe that giving our students this opportunity could start a spark that can help grow advocates for our outdoor spaces by engaging and building skills and voices that create leaders in environmental advocacy for our public lands and wildlife.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burks, a junior majoring in animal science with a pre-veterinary concentration, said it has always been her dream to make a difference and to travel beyond the limits of her imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am looking forward to seeing the wildlife and the beautiful sites that I don\u2019t normally get to see where I am from,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope to learn more about rich history and cultural perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concepcion, a sophomore majoring in wildlife sustainability and ecosystem sciences with a concentration in natural resource ecology, said Alaska has long been on her bucket list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am super stoked and I\u2019m so grateful to be on this expedition,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope to speak to a Gwich\u2019in elder and learn firsthand from their experience and hear their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI also hope to gain life skills like communication with people from different backgrounds and apply that to other areas of my life! I also hope to make friends among the village and be able to connect in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Springs-Hargrove, a junior majoring in political science, is looking forward to experiencing the expansive landscape of Alaska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlaska seems way different than other places I\u2019ve visited,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to gain more knowledge about the land and the cultures surrounding it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith, a freshman double-majoring in psychology and sociology, said he looks forward to traveling to Alaska to gain a better understanding of how to make an environmental difference while learning about new cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am beyond thrilled to be able to immerse myself in the culture, to live with a native tribe, learn about their way of life, eat the food and get a deeper understanding of a lifestyle different from my own,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI hope this experience allows me to expand my leaderships skills in order for me to take a proactive stance versus a supportive role in protecting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about the Lozano Long Division of Global, Community and First-gen Initiatives, go to https:\/\/catalog.tarleton.edu\/globalcommunityconnections\/<\/a>. To find out more about Operation ROAM, visit https:\/\/www.loveisking.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Four Tarleton State University students will travel to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska this summer as part of an advanced leadership experience program. Aukira Burks, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":473,"featured_media":51003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":382,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,425],"tags":[446,461],"class_list":["post-51000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-campus-community","tag-division-of-student-engagement-success","tag-global-and-study-abroad"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"ehellmund@tarleton.edu","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/ehellmundtarleton-edu\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2024\/05\/ROAM_2024-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","Campus & Community<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","Campus & Community<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Division of Student Engagement & Success<\/a>","Global and Study Abroad<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Division of Student Engagement & Success<\/span>","Global and Study Abroad<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on May 28, 2024","modified":"Updated on September 23, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on May 28, 2024 10:37 am","modified":"Updated on September 23, 2024 4:24 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"Operation ROAM partnership with Tarleton State University, featuring four individuals.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/473"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}