College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Undergrad Experiences Pave Career Paths By Cheryl Alberts Irwin, ’96, ’00
Kai Schafer loves camping and the outdoors. So when he hiked 325 mountainous miles to collect hair samples from grizzly bears, he says he “had the time of my life” while working toward career goals. Ashley Bernstein’s healthier confections, and the family farm roots of Alissa Doerr and Courtney Spilker, all move them toward their career goals, as well. Schafer and Doerr are among College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources students gaining career footholds through internships, while Bernstein and Spilker
lobbying and agricultural policies, and has gained multiple professional contacts. The student ambassador and future attorney is
are among the 425 UCARE (Undergraduate Creative
president of the Nebraska chapter of the National Agri-
Activities Research Experiences) students at the University
marketing Association. Doerr said she hopes to practice
of Nebraska–Lincoln.
agricultural law in the Midwest, allowing her to retain her
Schafer, a fisheries and wildlife student from St. Edward, had a 2011 summer internship on the Cabinet-
rural roots. Bernstein, a food science and technology senior from
Yaak Grizzly Bear Project, a cooperative venture of the U.S.
Elkhorn, worked with Michael Zeece for her first UCARE
Geological Survey and the University of Montana.
project, researching and developing apple-pie caramels
The UNL senior collected hair samples from grizzlies after they rubbed and scratched themselves against trees. Samples were analyzed to determine bear gender and num-
made with real apples. She also made a healthy caramel with honey, brown rice syrup and low-fat evaporated milk. Her second UCARE project, working with pilot plant
bers, helping indicate bear population trends in the 2.4 million-acre
(Above) While collecting hair for the Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Project, Kai Schafer hiked 325 miles in northwest Montana and northeast Idaho. (Left) Ashley Bernstein makes healthier confections, such as low-fat, low-sugar caramels and frozen kefir, in the Food Processing Center laboratory.
study area in northwest Montana and northeast Idaho. Schafer said his experiences were a career “stepping stone many people don’t have.” He
aspires to “make food safe, healthy and affordable for
next hopes to be a grizzly project
everyone.” Plant biology sophomore Courtney Spilker’s summer
biotechnician, planning routes to
UCARE focus was switchgrass/greenbug interactions,
collect wildlife samples.
a project started earlier in the laboratory of entomology
Out on the East Coast, Alissa
professor Tiffany Heng-Moss.
Doerr found she needn’t have
Spilker ground grass samples for protein, analyzed
been apprehensive about living in the nation’s capital while she
data and took careful measurements – long, repetitive
interned with the National Corn
laboratory tasks that taught her the value of patience. The
Growers Association.
Beatrice native also is a plant science teaching assistant and was a Dean’s Scholar in Experiential Leadership freshman.
“I was shocked I fit in so
Spilker said she gains energy being surrounded by
well,” said Doerr, an agricultural economics junior from Creighton. She took notes during Congressional meetings and hearings on the Korea, Panama and Columbia North
manager Laurie Keeler, is frozen kefir that is healthier than
young women who are “super motivated. The more experi-
traditional ice cream, Bernstein said.
ences you have the more you know what you want in life.”
Her experiments in the Food Science and Technology
Heng-Moss, she added, has shown her the many diverse
American Free Trade Agreements, and topics such as bio-
laboratory include working with edible glitter and hand-
occupations that can be held with a CASNR degree. Grad-
technology, ethanol, water quality, pesticides and food aid.
pulling taffy, learning ingredients and perfecting their com-
uate school might be in her future, and possibly teaching.
In her spare time she kayaked the Potomac River.
binations for the marketplace. The Honors student and
Doerr now better understands the federal government,
20 | GoodNUz | Colleges
CASNR ambassador is contemplating graduate school and
casnr.unl.edu
“Nebraska is my home, and I want to make it a better place,” Spilker said.