Student and Early Career Professionals Affairs Committee (SECPAC)
Committee Mission Statement
The mission of SECPAC is to engage with, and promote AFS involvement of, students and early career professionals throughout the North Central Division. The committee focuses on the following objectives to support our mission:
- Provide virtual and in-person networking and professional development opportunities.
- Distribute employment, internship, and scholarship opportunities.
- Create informal mentoring networks among students and early career professionals throughout the Division.
- Facilitate communication with Division leadership regarding the needs and concerns of student and early career members.
Committee Members
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CHAIRS AND SUBCOMMITTEES |
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Co-Chairs: Hannah Mulligan & April Simmons |
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Communications Committee: Brooke Novinger |
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Continuing Education Committee: Matt Kvam & Madalyn Siller |
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Membership Committee: Kayla Reed, Levi Suchla |
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CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVES |
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Dakotas: Jeston Hassler |
Minnesota: Levi Suchla |
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Illinois: Tanya Fendler |
Missouri: Ashley Hrdina |
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Indiana: Noah Haas |
Nebraska: Lauren Allex |
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Iowa: Joshua Goff |
Ontario: Alyssa Goodenough |
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Kansas: Shelby Kuck |
Ohio: Steven Gratz |
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Michigan: Madison Haddock |
Wisconsin: Logan Cutler |
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Mid-Canada: Imogen Bellinger |
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Join SECPAC!
SECPAC has several subcommittee and chapter rep positions that are currently vacant, and any students or early career professionals throughout the North Central Division are welcome to join as members at-large. For more information on roles and responsibilities, contact the current co-chairs. To be added to our email lists, click HERE.
New Presenters Symposia
SECPAC organized special symposia at the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conferences in 2023 and 2024 to provide new presenters a chance to practice and receive constructive feedback from audience members. At the end of the 2023 session, we hosted a panel discussion with academics and professionals in both fisheries and wildlife to give recommendations for effective presentations and answer questions from the audience. At the end of the 2024 session, we facilitated a one-hour workshop on best practices for effective presentations which included tips and tricks from members of the AFS Climate Ambassador Program and group discussion on how to improve presentation slides. We recorded the 2023 panel discussion and created a handout of the presentation tips and tricks provided in 2024 for folks to reference as they prepare for future presentations!
The link to the 2023 Panel Discussion handout is available HERE as a video.
2024 Best Practices for Effective Presentations: HERE
Student Conclave
SECPAC organized and hosted a student conclave at the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area just outside St. Louis, Missouri in 2025 with assistance from the Missouri Department of Conservation and Michigan AFS. The event consisted of fisheries gear demos, workshops on fish identification and age estimation, and a fun competition that tested skills learned throughout the day. We plan to host another student conclave in 2026 with various workshops, so stay tuned for updates!
