Hello! I’m EJ. I am a third-year student at The Ohio State University in the School of Environment and Natural Resources and am majoring in Forestry, Fisheries, and Wildlife, with my main interests being in Forestry and Wildlife. I have been interested in the outdoors and have had a dream of working outside for most of my life. Being in and working in nature is great, but my main interest in botany is to be able to identify and explain the characteristics of most if not all of the nature around me, including the all-important Ohio plants. Being a park ranger this summer has really sparked my interest in this. I want to be able to identify plant species while working as a ranger when visitors ask me about them.

Some of my interests include wildlife and nature in general, as well as sports. I am currently a part-time ranger and my career goal after graduating college is to become a full-time ranger. I have also thought about becoming a wildlife officer which may also be a career goal of mine.

Botany is a branch of biology and is the science and study of plant life and its characteristics. My favorite plant, which should not come as a surprise, is a buckeye tree. One major thing I hope to gain from this class is to be able to identify any plant I come across without using google or other resources.

My coat of arms explains who I am as a person and the things that are important to me. In the top left corner, I chose to draw a block O for The Ohio State University. This represents me well because it is the college I currently go to and show that I have been a die-hard buckeye for my whole life. In the top right corner, I have my motto, which is “Live out your dreams!”. I specifically chose this motto because it is something I always try to pursue and no matter what happens in life, I will always try to achieve my dreams. In the bottom left corner is my hometown of Wilson, North Carolina, as well as my interest in botany. As explained before, I am interested in botany because I want to be able to identify and characterize plants by just looking at them when out in nature. Lastly, in the bottom right corner, is my major which is Forestry, Fisheries, and Wildlife (FFW).