“Biochemistry is one of those topics that you sometimes think, “When will I ever need to use this?” This CEL program eliminates this question and turns biochemistry into something that is applicable to the real world. It gives you the backbone to educate patients. This experience gave me a taste of what patient education consists of and I was able to combine my knowledge from this class into something that is beneficial to my community.”

“Our CEL work with Hawkwatch International may seem small but has a profound impact on this particular species, the community of Utah, as well as on our own education. Many of us agreed that this work with CEL partners has changed our outlook on the education we received and our future in our biology careers. This CEL work also allowed for us to make meaningful connections with the biology community here in SLC. This connection does not happen in a typical university class and has unwavering value in the development of conservation biologists hoping to make a difference in this world.”

I think that the Community Engaged Learning program is an essential component to applied science. It was very rewarding for me; it gave me the opportunity to get my foot in the door with the US Forest Service, local office. I was able to meet the right people to help me understand the departments within the forest service. This connection relates directly to wildlife biology in every way. If I can get in part time next summer, then it could possibly lead to an internship opportunity or technical assistant job to a plant or wildlife biologist, and hopefully lead to a graduate path within the forestry realm!