Convocation ‘24: Jordan McLean, BSc Environmental and Conservation Sciences, Renewable Resources

 

As a farmgirl, the only thing Jordan McLean knew for sure was her love of animals. Wildlife biology seemed like a logical subject to pursue in university, but as she began to learn about environmental issues, her passion for the natural world grew to encompass stewardship. 

Environmental and Conservation Sciences, with a major in conservation biology, in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences seemed to address all her interests, but after taking a plant identification course in her first semester, Jordan’s head was turned. She loved it.   

“That is the really nice thing about this degree — there are so many avenues that you can take with it,” she says. 

Experiencing the highs and lows of her undergraduate program, and life in general, Jordan has learned to prioritize her mental health, including a lighter course load at one point, and taking advantage of the semester abroad during the 2024 winter term at Bangor University in Wales as part of the ALES Exchange program. She took three courses: Introduction to Ornithology; Conservation Practice; and Plant Diversity and Conservation.

“It is such an eye-opening experience,” she says. “I was able to make so many amazing friends and memories while I was there!”

Now working for Natural Resources Canada as a forest mapping for wildfire resilience crew lead, Jordan plans to spend as much time as she can hiking with her new dog, Niamh - a ten month old Australian shepherd mix (she thinks).  

Congratulations Jordan!

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What led you to choose your current area of study, and why the U of A for your studies?

Growing up, I spent as much time as possible outside playing in the trees or hanging out with the animals on my farm where I gained an immense appreciation for nature. When I started to learn about environmental issues, I became super passionate about protecting it. This passion, along with my love of animals, led me to wildlife biology. I really loved the idea of tracking large mammals in the wild and the one type of job that seemed best fit for this was wildlife biology. 

At the time, I could not find a wildlife biology degree so I spent grade 11 trying to find a degree that would give me the prerequisites to pursue this as a career. The only university that provided a four-year degree that set me on the wildlife biology path was the University of Alberta. I also really loved the campus after I toured it, and also how close it was to home. Even though I originally enrolled in Conservation Biology as a major, with plans to become a wildlife biologist, that is not what I intend to do now. After taking a plant course during my first semester at the U of A, I realized that I absolutely loved plants and would rather pursue that. That is the really nice thing about this degree — there are so many avenues that you can take with it. I did not have to continue my pursuit of wildlife biology and even now with my job in wildfire and plants, I could go and work in wildlife or aquatics or environmental policy.

What is one of your favourite memories from your time at the U of A?

Being on campus and hanging out with my friends in between classes, working on assignments (usually just talking) as well as climbing at the Wilson Climbing Centre. I loved being in school because it gave me the opportunity to be around the people I loved all the time. It fed my extroverted soul.

Tell us about your favourite professor and/or class

ENCS 407 (Rangeland Plant Communities of North America). This was the course that I had to take to participate on the Range Team. Both the class and the club were among the coolest things I participated in during my degree. ENCS 407 taught me how to identify over 200 rangeland plants throughout North America. It was really tough and I was constantly studying for it but the class was very small, only 11 people, and these students were also super into plants. Getting to spend so much time with them was amazing. The opportunity to take this hard-earned knowledge and compete in Boise, Idaho against teams from Mexico, the US and Canada was really cool!

Did you take on any leadership roles while you were a student? If so, please share your experiences.

I was an undergraduate teaching assistant for RENR 120 (Introduction to Plant Identification) for two semesters during my third and fourth year! It was a really awesome experience as it allowed me to keep up my plant knowledge and share my love and knowledge with the class. I also gained knowledge from the students as well! I was a grader for their assignments and taught them about the plants that they needed to learn for the week and how to use a dichotomous key to identify plants.

Did you face any significant obstacles or challenges during your program, and if so, how did you respond?

I lost one of my best friends the summer before my last year of university and having to deal with that grief and trauma was one of the hardest things I have had to work through. Add on a full course load and working a part-time job, it was a struggle to give myself the time and opportunities to help my mental state. I found that I just was not able to juggle it all and had to drop out of one of my classes. Although difficult to swallow at first, it was one of the best things that I could have done as it gave me the chance to work on healing and do well in my other courses.

What advice do you have for current and future students?

Make sure to take time for yourself. You can't do well in your courses if you are constantly burnt out and unhappy. Try and do one thing a day away from school for an hour or two. Your health is more important than your grades.

• Four courses a semester instead of five is a GODSEND
• Go study abroad!! It is such an eye-opening experience and I was able to make so many amazing friends and memories while I was there!
• Try and work a variety of jobs in your degree so that your résumé contains as much variety and experience as possible if you are unsure of what you want to do with your degree. This also allows you to see what you like and dislike before you go out into the real world and try and find a job. It is better to be stuck in a job you don't like for four months than indefinitely.

How do you plan on celebrating convocation?

Am I allowed to say that I am gonna party?? I am BUT if I can't say that then say how I am going to go to Canmore and hang out with friends and my doggo that I just adopted a month ago!

What's next after graduation?

I am starting a term position with Natural Resources Canada working on the Northform project which maps wildfire resilience. I have worked on this study for the last two summers and have been lucky enough to be offered a year-long contract starting in November! Along with this I will be trying to spend as much time as possible doing all of the extracurricular activities that I love such as bouldering and hiking as well as spending time with my new doggo.