Another great way for Wildlife Professionals to help others.

Mentor a Student

A mentor is a more experienced individual, who helps and guides another person
to learn new skills and gain knowledge.
This guidance has no cost, but does have a great impact by producing
more and better wildlife professionals to carry on our work.

If you are interested in these mentoring opportunities,
please contact Susan Rupp at (605) 688-4779.

1. Professionals needed to mentor students for the upcoming SD Chapter of TWS meeting.

We will have a social activity where you can meet "your" student and get to know them and their interests.  The students are encouraged to "shadow" the professional for part or all of the meeting.  Mentors are asked to introduce the students to folks and allow them to network.

2. Be a Mentor in Dr. Rupp's class . . .  

Dr. Rupp's class will be taught again this spring (2011) and every year from here on out. Professionals are needed to serve as mentors for students. In general, the students speak with their mentors (via phone or email depending on what the mentors prefer) about once a week. The students have an inital assignment where they are supposed to get to know their mentor by asking a short list of about 10 questions. Then there is one additional assignment for extra credit. Students are given a choice of three alternatives for that assignment:

1) Inverview their mentor
2) Go in the field with their mentor
3) Do a leadership assignment with their mentor.

The mentors are also used to help guide the development of management plans for the course if students have questions, although this has not happened extensively in the past.

In general, all the mentors have stated it has taken less time than they thought it might. Dr. Rupp strives to work with the mentors and respect their employers as well so that this does not become intrusive of their time and efforts.