College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Forestry

This time last year, I was working in a factory as a machine operator, in a concrete building with no windows, doing twelve-hour shifts with absurd amounts of overtime. During the winter I was lucky to see the sunset or sunrise, and most days I didn’t see the sun at all. I can’t even really say the money was worth the stress it put on me and my mental health.

The good thing that did come out of it, however, was my desperate desire to look for a new job. The State of Michigan job website was one of the first places I looked, and I saw so many listings there that required a Bachelor of Forestry.  “You can get a degree in forests?” I thought. How beautiful. I had no idea that Forestry was a degree that I could get. Less than week later I was digging up my old community college transcripts and applying to Michigan State University.

Growing up, we didn’t really go places. We couldn’t afford to. I stayed inside a lot, and read a lot of books, and the public library was where I spent most of my time. I was never really exposed to the outdoors until I was an adult and could take myself anywhere I wanted. I didn’t know how much I was missing until I was suddenly working a job that made me miserable and craving as much time outside as I possibly could get. Waiting to start school again gave me a reason to get back outside more, go to parks, really look at trees and admire their structure. The beginning of starting to fall in love with the world and all our ecosystems again.

Deciding to go back to college at 30 was hard for me. I was so scared about not being able to afford housing, not being able to afford food, my car payment, or any of my bills. Growing up paycheck to paycheck takes its toll on you and makes you very aware of how fragile your living situation can be sometimes.

I had never thought that going to somewhere like Michigan State University was an option for me, even when I was in high school. I had had a job since I was 15, and even then, the only way I had been able to afford to go to even community college was through the Pell Grant. I was so surprised and grateful to see all the help and funding that was available to me if I just reached out to people. The power to change my whole life was right there, and there were people who wanted to help me do it.

There is so much good in the world, and so many good people, all trying their best. I’ve already met so many wonderful, kind people who care about the world in ways I thought most people had given up on. Being around all these passionate, dedicated people has given me so much hope for the future and truly has revitalized my passion for life and the environment. I had nearly given up on the hope for anything better for myself, for a job that would make me happy to go to work every day, around people who care so much about doing the right thing.

Looking back, I can’t believe it’s only been a year. How quickly things can change when you set your mind to it and have a couple helping hands. The world is beautiful again, and I have so many options in front of me. I am still scared of doing the wrong thing, and making the wrong choices, but I know I have so much support around me from everyone here. All those real-world things that I was scared of are still there, housing and food and bills. But I’m still here, doing it, learning about forests and how beautiful they really are and what I can do to help them stay that way. Even with that uncertainty, the payoff of being in this line of work is already proving to be so worth it. Becoming more connected with the world again, and more rooted in all the things that really matter.

It’s okay to take a leap, because there’s a whole crowd of people to catch you. Your life can change for the better, like mine did. It sounds cheesy, but writing this made me emotional, thinking about where I was then and where I am now. It truly has been a revelation, and I can’t say enough about how grateful I am to have this opportunity in my hands.

My name is Rachel Adams, and I am proud to call myself a student of Forestry at Michigan State University.