Beyond the classifieds: Four seniors talk about their plans following graduation
Anamarie Lamb, graduating in environmental studies with minors in Portuguese, business and Latin American studies, is planning a service adventure to Mozambique this summer with the non-profit Carr Foundation. She said she wants to have a real impact on the way resources are balanced with sustainability. Lamb will be part of a diverse team of professionals who will survey Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique to find ways to restore its environment and animals to the pristine state it used to enjoy in the 1950s.
“We want to give people an incentive to manage their resources,” she said.
She said John Wayne and other famous people used to visit the park and she would like to help bring tourist dollars back to Mozambique.
“I felt I could make a difference and help people have better lives,” she said.
She said the Carr Foundation was started recently by USU alumnus Greg Carr, who pledged $40 million over 20 years to the foundation.
Lamb said she has always wanted to do this kind of work.
“Now I have a good excuse (to help),” she said.
After graduating this May, Terrin Williamson will arrive by boat-plane at the Enchanted Lake Lodge in Alaska. Williamson, graduating in 2009 with a degree in political science and international communication, will work four months this summer in the little island town of King Salmon, Alaska. She said she plans to spend lots of time walking the trails looking for wildlife such as bears, and learning to fish.
“I’m pretty excited to learn deep sea fishing, she said.”
She said she could catch tuna, marlin and halibut in the sea, or river fish for trout and bass.
“The money’s better than an internship, for one, and it’s an adventure; Alaska’s a place I’ve never been,” she said.
Williamson studied in Kobe, Japan during her time at USU and speaks Japanese. Williamson said she may travel to Hawaii after her time in Alaska to work with Japanese tourists, perhaps leading horseback tours of the islands.
Otis Nelson played Aggie football his whole four years as a student, playing wide receiver. Now he’s about to graduate, and he’s pinning his hopes for an exciting upcoming year on the NFL draft pick happening this weekend. He said the Minnesota Vikings flew him out to see their facilities last week, and his agent hopes to work out a contract for him.
“My dad, Orlando Nelson, played for the Vikings,” he said.
He said if he gets picked up, he’ll fly out for a two-week mini camp in June, then come back to Logan to train hard the whole summer. In August he would leave for a new career as a pro-football player.
He said he would also eventually like to use his entrepreneurial skills, because he will graduate with a business entrepreneur degree from USU this May.
Cohen Summers is an Honors double major in finance and economics with a minor in marketing. After graduating in the spring, he said, he plans to head to Fiji along with two of his best friends to become create a boutique resort for eco-tourists. He said he and his friends want to help preserve the Fijian cultures which have existed for thousands of years.
“We want to grow and sustain the local economy and maintain and respect the culture,” he said.
He said the new company will rely heavily on internal capital at first. He said the company will lead scuba dives for tourists. Summers said he wants to spend lots of time scuba diving this summer, too, working toward his divemaster certification.
Summers said he’s always been an adventure seeker.
“I’m getting paid to scuba dive and develop a business with complete control,” he said. “Every aspect of this seems positive.”