American Fisheries Society Montana State University Student Subunit

Congrats to the 2023 Wally McClure Scholarship winners (including our past MSU-AFS vice president Rob Eckelbecker)!

Congratulations to the 2021-2022 MSU AFS executive committee! With a new excom will no doubt come many innovative ideas and opportunities for MSU AFS members and the fisheries we greatly value. Thanks go out to the outgoing executive board; get ready for a great year, Bobcats!

As we near the end of the semester, it is once again time to elect new officers for the MSU AFS subunit! Before voting on new 2021-2022 officers, we must nominate students for all positions. If you would like to nominate yourself for president, Vice President, secretary, treasurer or communications coordinator positions, please email your nomination to us at [email protected] with the information outlined above. We will accept nominations from March 15- 30, and virtual voting will take place shortly thereafter. Please check back in soon for more information on the upcoming election including dates and candidates. Don’t forget to submit your nominations, and if you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Good luck, Bobcats!

If you are considering a job in fisheries, the federal government holds many opportunities for employment. USA Jobs is a key tool in finding federal employment, but you should not have to attack the application process alone! Head over to www.montana.edu/msuafs/employment_resources/interview_resume_successtips.html for the MSU AFS guide to applying to jobs through USA Jobs! Happy job hunting, Bobcats!

Attention undergraduate MSU AFS members! If you are interested in making new connections and furthering you knowledge of fisheries science, this is your chance. The MSU AFS subunit will be sponsoring awards to attend the virtual Montana Chapter of the AFS meeting as well as the Idaho chapter, Washington/ British Columbia meeting and more. If you are an undergraduate MSU AFS member enrolled in spring 2021 classes with an overall GPA of 2.8 or greater, apply by sending a one page cover letter and resume to [email protected] by February 18th, 2021. Email [email protected] with any questions. We look forward to receiving your applications!

If achieving success as an undergraduate and beyond in the fisheries science field is challenging for you at times, you don’t have to do it alone! The MSU AFS Subunit hosts a mentor program to match undergraduate students to graduate mentors. During the semester, one on one meetings are held so your mentor can stay up to date on your academic progress and answer your questions. These questions can range from inquiries about graduate schools and fisheries jobs to resume and cover letter writing and even non fisheries related subjects. Pictured are M.S. candidate and mentor Taylor Preul (left) along with her undergraduate mentee, Tori Ogolin (right). If you are interested in getting involved in our mentor program, please email [email protected] or visit our website at http://montana.edu/msuafs/ for more information.

Hey, bobcats! Hope you are all enjoying winter break and taking some much-needed rest and relaxation after a tumultuous semester. We are entering the period of time when many different employers are posting job announcements for seasonal positions, so make sure you set alerts to be notified of relevant jobs on USAjobs, the state job board, Texas A&M, and others. We share jobs across our listserve as well, and try and keep up by posting jobs on our website-https://www.montana.edu/msuafs/employment_resources/jobs.html
Please see our most recent posting- Fisheries Technician Job with Hickey Bros Research, LLC working in Yellowstone to remove lake trout!

Congratulations to the winner of the “Most Interesting Trash” category for our recent stream cleanup up- Maja Holmquist, from University of Montana! We had a lot of great submissions and it was definitely difficult to decide among the UM and MSU Trash hauls, but the tiny stuffed cat was just too random. She received some flies tied by our own VP and some subunit swag from UM and MSU.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our event or even if you just pick up trash when you are out appreciating our Montana Rivers!

If you would like to support and represent the MSU American Fisheries Society student subunit, look no farther! In order to offer our clothing for sale while reducing in-person contact, we have set up a UTees online store. Some of the proceeds from every order go back to our subunit so we can help build the futures of our student members with valuable experiences and resources.
To shop, visit this link any time from now to December 5th: https://order.universitytees.com/bird_banks/81535/signups/new
Once the end of this period is reached, your order will be shipped to the location of your choice. Production and shipping will likely take no more than 3 weeks after December 5th, so please choose your shipping location accordingly.
Good luck on the rest of your finals, Bobcats! You're almost done!