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This job's minimum requirement is an associate degree, but my degree wasn't in natural resource management. I've always enjoyed being outdoors--hunting, fishing. I never did well in school, though; I just tried to get by, until I got to Tri-County Technical College

After high school, I attended different colleges off and on, but I never got a degree. When we started our family, I enrolled at Tri-County because I knew a degree would help me earn more money. In my Industrial Technology classes, I found a teacher who believed in me and encouraged me to do my best. The two-year degree I earned at Tri-County gave me a big confidence boost, and it helped me move into a better job at Clemson University.

A lot of what I use as a wildlife technician, I learned in agriculture classes I took while working for Clemson. When I was in school, I didn't know you could get a degree in natural resource management. Now, I tell students to talk to their guidance counselors to figure out what they want to do after high school or where they want to go to college. Those who are interested in what I do might want to go to Central Carolina Technical College, in Sumter, which offers a degree in natural resource management. In my job, I use everything I've ever learned. Right now, I'm using what I learned at Tri-County to help me install the electrical wiring for our new equipment shed.