Sophia DeMoss, a senior forestry major with a concentration in forest management, got hands-on
experience working as an FNR Woodlands intern this summer.
DeMoss found out about the Woodlands internship from a previous intern, spoke with FNR forester Don Carlson at the FNR Career Fair last spring and interviewed for the position.
In her role as FNR Woodlands intern, the Martinsville, Indiana, native performed duties ranging from invasive species control to timber stand improvement (TSI), timber harvesting and more.
“I got real-world experience in everything I have learned in my classes,” DeMoss said. “The internship made a lot of things click for me that I didn’t really understand after learning them in class. I got to learn silviculture, machine handling, chainsaw techniques and also about invasives and chemicals. I already had some background and general knowledge about invasives, dendrology and a little bit of silviculture, but I learned a lot.”
Sophia said she really enjoyed expanding her knowledge and getting to put her classes into action.
“My favorite parts of the job were getting out into the field and doing stuff,” she shared. “School is largely sitting in a classroom and learning the theoretical, although we are very fortunate to have a ton of lab-based classes in FNR. But, I loved getting to go somewhere and just work outside for eight to 12 hours. I really like the chainsaw use, especially when I learned how to fell trees. That is going to put me ahead in the firefighting job market, plus it was just fun.
“The most challenging part of the internship was the chemical mixing for invasive control, remembering the right mixtures and doing the math to get the concentrations right.”
The summer after her freshman year, Sophia worked as a steward at the Yellowstone Club in Montana. The following year, she attended FNR Summer Practicum and participated in the Sustainable Natural Resources study abroad course in Sweden.
Sophia is involved with the Society of American Foresters at Purdue and also has been a part of the Purdue Student Society of Arboriculture (PSSA). Outside of FNR, she is a part of Boiler Catholics and within that several ministries such as the Outdoor Catholics and the Boiler Catholic Women.
This past summer’s internship has provided Sophia some perspective on her future career plans.
“This internship didn’t change my career plans, but it did open up some doors for me,” Sophia stated. “I particularly discovered that I liked scaling logs after harvest, which is something I did not expect to like."
A collage of photos from Sophia DeMoss's summer as an FNR Woodlands intern. 
