GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Glenville State College (GSC) Department of Land Resources student Cole Murphy completed an internship over the summer and has recently shared information about that internship experience with other students at Glenville State.

Murphy, from French Creek, West Virginia, is a Wildlife Management student. He worked for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources out of their Stonewall Jackson Wildlife Management Area. His internship allowed him experience with nuisance bear and deer calls and tractor operation for fertilizing, brush hogging, and disking purposes. He was also able to assist in the timbering of Red and Sugar Maples to prepare an area for Woodcock management. Murphy says that the internship gave him a better idea of what a career with the Division of Natural Resources would entail and hopes that he is able to pursue it as a career.

He was one of several students who took part in internship opportunities this summer. Those students also recently shared information about their summer work experiences with others as part of a Land Resources Seminar Series.

The Department offers a Summer Work Experience course for all of its academic programs in Forestry, Land Surveying, Environmental Science, Energy and Land Management, Criminal Justice, and Wildlife Management.

“We believe that these internships provide our students with hands-on experience that serves as a valuable foundation for a career in natural resource management in the future. To complement the student’s academic experience, we specifically request that the employment covers any of the activities related to certain disciplines in natural resource management and the student’s major,” said Dr. Rico Gazal, Chair of the Department of Land Resources.

As an intern, the students were registered for the Summer Work Experience course that requires a minimum of 160 hours (unpaid) or 320 hours (paid) of internship. The hours must be related to the natural resource management discipline throughout the duration of the internship. Students are also required to submit a Summer Work Experience Report every two weeks that provides the details of duties accomplished, number of hours spent for each task, and relevant academic courses applied. The internships usually begin as soon as the spring semester has ended.

For more information about the programs within the Department of Land Resources at Glenville State College, contact the Department of Land Resources at Land.Resources@glenville.edu or (304) 462-6370.