HGTC Forestry Student Wins Statewide Award
Kassie Burkett is Outstanding Undergraduate Student of the Year for SC Wildlife Society.
Horry-Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) Forestry and Wildlife Management student, Kassie Burkett, was presented with the South Carolina Wildlife Society’s Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award on October 16, 2019. SC Wildlife Society President, Dr. John Kilgo, presented Burkett with the award at the fall Annual Meeting held in Columbia.
Burkett was the only undergraduate student in South Carolina to receive the award this year, and is the fifth HGTC student to receive the award in the last ten years. She was nominated by her forestry professor, Deanna Ruth, for excelling in both academics and personal pursuits while volunteering with several agencies including Myrtle Beach State Park, Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
“As one of Kassie’s professors, I have seen her dedication to excellence,” said Ruth, HGTC Forestry Professor. “She is honest, dependable, incredibly hardworking, and her love for the outdoors drives her commitment to natural resources.”
During Burkett’s internship this summer, she was responsible for creating a site suitable for rocket netting ducks, baiting and monitoring, setting up the rocket net and banding the ducks. The project required that she organize and coordinate with other technicians and biologists to be successful.
“HGTC is extremely proud that one of our students has received this statewide award for the second year in a row from the SC Wildlife Society,” said Dr. Marilyn M. Fore, HGTC President. “This is quite an accomplishment for a student and a testament to our faculty. All are to be commended.”
Burkett will graduate in May 2020 with her Associates Degree in Forestry and Wildlife Management.
“The HGTC forestry management technology program is the only accredited associate degree program of its kind in the state of South Carolina,” continued President Fore. “Our training has proven to be successful for students as they pursue rewarding careers in wildlife and forestry management and timber harvesting.”
The SC Wildlife Society Annual Meeting was supported by the Clemson University Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Horry-Georgetown Technical College Wildlife Students, and Nemours Wildlife Foundation.