Two Forest Stewards Youth Corps members receive North Face Explorer fund scholarships!

Marisa

Written by Gabe Kohler

Two individuals from the summer Forest Stewards Youth Corps (FSYC) demonstrated excellence in environmental stewardship, career aspirations, and community leadership in their applications to The North Face Explorer Scholarship. Scholarship winners Marisa Armijo and Derek Martinez from the Las Vegas Ranger District FSYC crew will receive $1100 towards their college tuition and books this fall.

The North Face Explorer fund was created by the well-known outdoor recreation company to build community, connect people to the benefits of outdoor exploration, and empower individuals to be environmental stewards. These two young individuals have demonstrated a commitment to environmental stewardship through their shared career goal of conserving Fish and Game populations across Northern New Mexico.

This Fall Marisa will be attending Eastern New Mexico University as a Sophomore pursuing a bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries. Marisa has been attending college-level classes in the last two years of her high school experience while working and helping her family with ranch work. Her commitment to land stewardship and to community leadership made Marisa a stand-out candidate for the scholarship. Marisa shared that, “The scholarship is helping me with tuition and books and to further my education in order to become a game warden.” She expressed deep gratitude to The Forest Stewards Youth Corps for helping her gain experience and connections for her career. When asked about her reaction to receiving the award, Marisa said, “It makes me feel appreciated to be recognized in such a meaningful way by The Forest Stewards Guild and The North Face.”

Derek

Derek Martinez shares Marisa’s love of wildlife and is pursuing a career in wildlife biology with an emphasis on bighorn sheep populations. As a fourth-year returning summer FSYC crew member, Derek has continually demonstrated his love for the outdoors and a “deep respect and admiration for the diverse species of wildlife in New Mexico.” Each year, Derek shared his creativity and love of wildlife by drawing the graphic featured on the back of our crew member t-shirts. The Guild is proud to help Derek take the next steps in his career by providing scholarship money for Derek’s sophomore year at New Mexico State University where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology. When we reached out to Derek to notify him of his achievement he said, “Thank you to The North Face Explorers fund and especially to The Forest Stewards Guild for making this great scholarship opportunity possible.”

We are excited to see where the future takes these two bright young leaders and have encouraged them to stay in touch with The Forest Stewards Guild as they take the next steps in their careers.