Haub School Alumni Highlights

January, 2023

Will Benkelman (he/him)

Undergraduate Degree: Environment & Natural Resources (ENR) and Environmental Systems Science (ESS)

Graduate Degree: Environment, Natural Resources, & Society (ENRS), minor in Collaborative Practice

Hometown: Lawrence, KS

 

What position are you currently in?

“I work as a project associate for Peak Facilitation Group. The project associate role is where you are going into meetings, typically natural resources, collaboratives, working groups, stakeholder groups, or really anything relating to natural resources, facilitation, and collaboration. My specific job is to support the main or lead facilitator. I write meeting summaries, take meeting notes, help get meetings set up, communicate with clients, do administrative work, and write. Those write-ups get turned into documents that are distributed to the group later on for people to review.”

 

How did you find this position?

“During my time in grad school, my now boss was a guest presenter in one of my ENRS classes. In the ENRS you have the collaborative practicum, and I chose to do mine on how you actually work as a natural resource facilitator. Basically, looking at the practical side, as opposed to the academic side you might learn about in class. I interviewed her for my practicum and created a connection. Earlier this year, I was in the process of trying to find a job and I decided, ‘I want to do natural resource collaboration and facilitation to start my career off, that's the field I want to go into.’

I emailed her saying ‘Hey, we talked about a year ago, I'm looking to get into this field, what advice do you have for somebody new?’ She emailed me back and told me of the great timing because they were hiring for this exact position. I was able to interview and then eventually get the job. Perfect timing and also making connections through the grad program. Very lucky, I have to say, because before this moment, I found a lot of dead ends trying to get into this field. There's not a lot of openings, so I’m very grateful for that.”

 

In what ways did the Haub School prepare you for this career?

“Both during my undergrad and graduate time at the Haub School, I was always interested in natural resource facilitation work, particularly with Dr. Steve Smutko’s classes. I got the collaborative practice minor as a grad student, and the minor teaches you everything you might need to know from an academic standpoint. I felt prepared during the interview and was able to answer the questions the right way because of the minor. Having the minor was a huge, huge lift to get my job. In addition, the Haub School supported me with resources to go to natural resource facilitation-related conferences. I was able to watch a couple of collaboration/facilitation conversations live. Lastly, being a Teaching Assistant (TA) for the class teaching the basics of collaboration helped show my understanding of these topics.”

 

 

What were some of the most memorable experiences being a Haubie?

“The most memorable experience has got to be rafting down the Grand Canyon for a class called ‘What Does the River Say?’ I think that was the coolest thing I've ever done in my life, and I would not have been able to do it without the Haub School. Field courses in general from participating in the field week near Saratoga both as a student and a peer mentor to going to the Canary Islands. Having these opportunities, and then having the support from the Haub School to make it work is really amazing. The scholarships they offer are just wonderful. 

With the grad program, I enjoyed being a TA, it was awesome being a part of the start of this new master's degree. Also, the professors and all the faculty are wonderful as well. People always talk about how supportive their program is during admissions tours.  I heard that when I was an incoming freshman, I'm sure you did, too. But then in the Haub School, it felt like ‘Oh wow, I know that they actually 100% will support me in whatever I want to do.’ All of the support from all the professors and faculty members from the Haub School was absolutely amazing.”

 

Did you have any mentors or advisors at the university who played a significant role in guiding your career path?

“100%, Dr. Steve Smutko. He is a mentor as much as a mentor could possibly be to somebody, I owe him a ton. He got me interested in and to learn about facilitation work, and then got me connected to people in the field. He did almost everything for me. In terms of my career, Steve is the main guy, but I owe a lot to Melanie Matthews as well. She supported me throughout my academic career as an advisor, helping me get everything figured out. From an administrative standpoint, I wouldn't be where I'm at without everything that Mel did, as well. So Melanie, and Steve, I owe everything to those two.”

 

 

Describe the transition from being a student to becoming an alumni  of the Haub school, how has your relationship with the school changed?

“Being a student, you're in the thick of it. However, being an alumni, it's honestly a little weird. When you're in school for six years, that's such a long part of your life as a young adult. I think now I look at the Haub School with a lot of pride, I was proud to be a student, both as an undergrad and graduate, and I was proud to take the classes, meet people, and learn so much. It's awesome to see the program continue to grow, and now to offer support from a distance. You know, I haven't donated or anything like that. Not really in that space yet. But being able to answer surveys, or anytime there's been any outreach for feedback, I'm always very happy to support the Haub School with my opinion and information in the best way that I can.”

 

What advice would you give to a current student or recent graduate? 

“This applies to both undergrad and graduate students, I think the best thing you can do is try and develop a relationship with your professors and advisors. Everybody in the Haub School is so plugged into our topic area within the West. If you develop a relationship and you ask for help, somebody's going to be able to help you. I wouldn't be where I am without Steve and his guidance. He offered me opportunities to help him out at work and me being able to say yes to that. Developing a connection to the faculty is the biggest piece of advice because they're going to be able to help you out later down the line.”

 

What professional and applied experiences did you have during your undergrad?

“When I was in the Haub School, I did a couple of seasonal things that helped me out with my career. I worked for the State Parks of Wyoming and I worked for Pheasants Forever. Both of those are connected to the environment and natural resource field. State Parks is more on the governmental and recreation side, and Pheasants Forever is a conservation organization. I was also able to work as a researcher focused on energy through the Ruckelshaus Institute. The natural resources and environmental field is a huge umbrella of things you can go through. Being in the program, and getting a degree in ENR, I was able to get those jobs. Because I had those two degrees, it helped me get my job now.”

 

“I'm a Haubie because I was able to find and then pursue my passion because of the Haub School. I knew I wanted to be involved in the environmental world in some way as a freshman, and now here I am with my job. That's so awesome.”

 

Will's story has been edited for length and clarity. All image credits go to Will.