“Michigan’s two-year master’s degree plan in Environmental Policy and Planning provided an opportunity for me to round out my knowledge of environmental studies by learning more about the human side of environmental issues and natural-resources management. I chose the School of Natural Resources and Environment over other schools because it offered a wide breadth of coursework, as well as a chance to delve deeply into the areas of greatest interest to me: collaborative planning and consensus-based decision making. “Once I began my studies, it became clear that this is truly an interdisciplinary school where faculty and students from diverse backgrounds work together to address common environmental challenges. By far, the highlight of my plan was my master’s project, which fostered intellectual creativity, real-life problem solving and the creation of research products for practical use by professionals in the conservation field. “My eight-student project team used case-study-based research to investigate collaborative planning on state trust lands for our client, the State Trust Lands Partnership Project of the Sonoran Institute and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. We presented our results at the Western States Land Commissioners Association conference in Wyoming in July 2006 and created a Web site outlining our research products (www.snre.umich.edu/ecomgt/trustlands). “The Natural Resources and Environment faculty, particularly my advisor, Professor Steve Yaffee, was invaluable during my two years at Michigan. Developing a strong working and personal relationship with individual faculty members makes the educational process so much richer and more rewarding. “In August 2006, I started a two-year Presidential Management Fellowship position with the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C., where I am able to apply my education and knowledge of collaborative planning in the Forest Service’s Cooperative Forestry division. I hope this opportunity will help me achieve my long-term career goal of forging public-nonprofit partnerships to resolve land-management issues in the United States. “My advice to prospective students is to think about where you might want to be in two years when your master’s degree is completed, and then marshal the experiences, resources and contacts to help you achieve that goal. If you’re like I was when I started my graduate program, you may not know exactly where you will put your talents to work. This school provides an environment where you can apply a passion for natural resources and the environment to your own career path as it becomes clearer.”