Sheridan College Ag department earns statewide recognition

The Northern Wyoming Community College District has announced that the Sheridan College Agriculture Department was recently recognized for statewide excellence by the Wyoming Society for Range Management. One faculty member and two students won awards in 2021.

According to a release, Sheridan College Director of Agriculture Mae Smith was awarded Wyoming SRM’s 2021 Trail Boss Award for her leadership contributions to the field of rangeland management. This is the organization’s most prestigious award and is given to just one individual per year.

Smith was specifically recognized for her work with the Wyoming Resource Education Days (WyRED) program in which she has served as an instructor and leader since 2012. WyRED is a weeklong camp for youth and adults that focuses on all aspects of natural resource management. Professionals and experts volunteer from across Wyoming to teach about plant identification, soils, wildlife habitat, water resources, GPS and map skills and more.

In addition, she was commended for her role as an instructor at Sheridan College and her dedication and passion for rangeland management. According to her nomination letter, Smith leads by example.

“Her classroom activities as well as field days with students help to display her knowledge and ability to apply the practices and principles that she teaches. Her management of her own land shows her dedication and passion for the resources,” the nomination letter reads.

Two Sheridan College students also won awards this year at Wyoming SRM’s annual meeting, which features student competitions and presentations. Six Sheridan College Range Club members participated.

Alison Dooley, Range Club secretary and a second-year student from Cypress, TX, won first place in the Plant Identification Exam to take home the $100 prize. Dooley and her partner Thad Berrett, a US Forest Service employee in Buffalo, also won second place in the ProAm contest, which randomly pairs students and professionals. Creed Carlson, a second-year student from Gillette, won second place in the Undergraduate Range Management Exam, a multiple choice exam testing all areas of rangeland knowledge, and was awarded $50.

“All of the Sheridan College Range Club members worked hard to prepare for these contests,” said Smith. “It speaks highly of our program and of the students’ dedication to place so well against other community college and university students.”