Student and Early Career Professionals Affairs Committee (SECPAC)
This is a placeholder for the soon-to-be approved new NCD Committee. Stay tuned and return for additional information. This Committee name may or may not change, but the Committee will eventually exist.
After a multi-year absence, the NCD Student and Early Career Professionals Activities Committee (SECPAC) is in the process of rebuilding. As we are only a couple months into this process, we have more plans than accomplishments to report. The SECPAC, which was formerly the Student Activities Committee, now includes early career professional (ECP) activities as well.
The SECPAC’s priority this spring/summer is to improve communications between the NCD, Student and Early Career Professionals subsection, state chapters and student subunits. To this end we are in the process of updating a contact list for student subunits in the NCD. Not all websites and social media pages are current, so if you are involved with a student subunit, would you please reach out ([email protected]) to ensure we have the most current contact information for your subunit. Additionally, we would appreciate hearing from faculty at institutions without a student subunit, who would be willing to receive and pass on information about AFS membership and opportunities to their students.
As we move into late summer/fall we’ll be working with the student/early career professionals planning committee to assist with the 2023 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference (MFWC). The tentative plan is to host a student and early career professional colloquium and social next winter in Kansas City.
The evolving structure of the SECPAC is two co-chairs with four subcommittees devoted to Communication, Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference Planning, Membership, and Continuing Education. At least one student or ECP representative on the SECPAC from each state/province would be ideal. Currently, we still need a representative from Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, and Ontario so if you are a student or ECP from any of those locations in particulary, please reach out. The reason for such a large group is to 1) combat the loss of committee related knowledge and momentum that often results as students graduate and chairs roll over, 2) provide a natural mentoring opportunity where older students and ECPs can help newer members as they become more involved in AFS, 3) provide a greater diversity of perspectives, and 4) share tasks to keep SECPAC time commitments feasible for students and ECPs.
If you have any suggestions or comments for the SECPAC, or would like to become involved, please reach out and contact us with questions ([email protected]; [email protected]).
Currently, the SECPAC is planning a symposium at the next Midwest Meeting. Stay tuned for more information on how you, as a young professional, can participate and get feedback on your presentation rather than questions about your research content, per se.
For information and to be added to the Slack Channel, please contact Shaley Valentine or Hadley Boehm
