{"id":641,"date":"2021-03-05T14:24:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T14:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8009\/stories\/?p=641"},"modified":"2025-05-08T15:07:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T15:07:03","slug":"how-a-forestry-grad-found-his-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forestrycareers.com\/stories\/how-a-forestry-grad-found-his-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Forestry Grad Found His Calling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In our Rayonier Graduates<\/a> series, we\u2019re talking to recent Forestry College graduates who now work for Rayonier. In this story, Brody Capps shares how he chose forestry and why college was like \u201cforestry boot camp\u201d at Stephen F. Austin State University.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

LUFKIN, Texas\u2014Rayonier\nTechnical Forester Brody Capps grew up loving the outdoors, but he didn\u2019t know\nhow to make it into a career\u2014until his career found him<\/em> through an after-school job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His mom had heard\nfrom a coworker that a land management company was looking to hire. Brody, a\nhigh school sophomore at the time, applied for the job and was soon spending\nhis nights, weekends and summers working on properties across Texas and even\nout-of-state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did a lot of\nforestry work, habitat management, timber sales, bush-hogging, setting up food\nplots, supervising logging crews,\u201d Brody recalls. \u201cIt was very satisfying work.\nI knew then I wanted to do this for a living.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He loved the time\noutdoors, but he also loved the business side of the work, the problem solving,\nand seeing the impact good land management can have on a property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time he\ngraduated, Brody had his sights on a career in forestry. Lucky for him, one of\nthe best forestry schools in the country was in his hometown: Stephen F. Austin\nState University\u2019s Arthur Temple College of Forestry & Agriculture<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Brody, left, poses with a classmate as they accept the Association of Southern Forestry Clubs Conclave trophy for their school.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Always\nSomewhere to Go in Forestry School<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In order to truly\nlearn the forestry profession, you have to spend a lot of time in the forest,\nand that\u2019s just what Brody\u2019s classes did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost every\nclass he took had a lab component, which required students to spend 3-4 hours\nat a time in the forest each week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A group of forestry students test water quality. \/ Photo Courtesy of Stephen F. Austin State University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSFA has its own\narboretum and forests, and it\u2019s close to 1000s and 1000s of acres of national\nforests,\u201d Brody says. \u201cWe always had somewhere to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students also\ntraveled to view different types of forests throughout Texas. One of his\nwildlife classes alone, habitat management, covered a large portion of the\nstate, including Chocolate Bay on the Gulf Coast, Del Rio near the Mexican\nborder, and a South Texas Wildlife Ranch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\nTechnical Report Every Week<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

But Forestry\nSchool is by no means easy. The work can be intense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was the\nclassroom portion of the work that blew my mind,\u201d Brody says. \u201cWe easily had a\ntechnical report due once a week for most classes, writing out reports on the\ntopics of the week. That really helped me develop my skills with writing, grammar\nand Excel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classes included\ntopics like silviculture, which is managing a forest for timber production;\nforest ecology, which is the study of forest ecosystems; biometrics, which is\nthe math applied to forests to quantify, for example, the volume of a group of\ntrees; and dendrology, a scientific study of tree species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really liked\ndendrology,\u201d Brody says. \u201cIt seemed horrible at the time, learning all the\nplant species in Texas by their scientific and common names. But now I use what\nI learned in that class every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"measuring
A group of forestry students learn to measure tree height. \/ Photo Courtesy of Stephen F. Austin State University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Forestry \u201cBoot Camp\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At SFA, forestry\nstudents take a 6-week summer course called \u201cField Station.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach week covers\na different subject. We\u2019d often work in the field from dark to dark each day,\nand then a report would be due the next day. We\u2019d work in the lab until\nmidnight. It\u2019s kind of like Boot Camp,\u201d Brody recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spent the\nnight in the lab several times, especially when we had to create Intensive\nManagement Plans for properties. Those were really challenging.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there was\nstill time for fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Crosscut
Brody, far right, and a classmate make the final cut in a crosscut saw competition. The block labeled SFA is just falling off the beam it came from as their classmates cheer them on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SFA doesn\u2019t take\nits winning record in Forestry Conclave<\/a> competitions for\ngranted. In free time, students like Brody enjoyed training for the competition\nthat brings numerous forestry colleges together for traditional\nlumberjack-style games. Some of the challenges are technical, like\nphotogrammetry (examining and interpreting aerial photos) and compass and\npacing (using a compass and chain to locate a specific point). Others are\nphysical, like the axe throwing competition, crosscut sawing and log rolling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chopping
Brody chops a block of wood at a competition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An\nInternship with Rayonier<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In the summer\nbetween his junior and senior years, Brody applied for an internship with\nRayonier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy the summer\u2019s end, I was cruising timber<\/a> by myself, and I was helping the team with other important forestry activities. They gave me a lot of responsibility. I really liked the people and the work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Brody\nsays, Rayonier was the only company he applied to as college was coming to a\nclose. He got the job and didn\u2019t waste a single day between college graduation\nand beginning his career with Rayonier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice\nfor Future Forestry Students<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Brody says students\nconsidering a forestry major should first make sure of one thing: that they\nlove the outdoors. His advice after that is to keep your options open by\nchoosing a degree with many career options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI graduated with\na forestry and wildlife degree. That way you can go into either field and you\nhave a lot of options,\u201d he says. \u201cThe people I graduated with aren\u2019t just\nworking in forestry. They also work in recreation, as park rangers, on wildlife\nranches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
With their common love for the outdoors and great work ethic, it’s no wonder Brody, shown far right, made some of his best friendships at Forestry School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI met some of my\nbest friends in forestry school. The classes were small, and we\u2019re all still in\ntouch, including with the professors. It was a ton of work, but it was worth\nit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our Rayonier Graduates series, we\u2019re talking to recent Forestry College graduates who now work for Rayonier. In this story, Brody Capps shares how he chose forestry and why college was like \u201cforestry boot camp\u201d at Stephen F. Austin State University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ryn_post_video":""},"categories":[5,2,63,41,42],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nHow a Forestry Grad Found His Calling | Rayonier Stories<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this story, Brody Capps shares how he chose forestry and why college was like \u201cforestry boot camp\u201d at Stephen F. 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