Summer break has flown by and another semester at UNT is upon us!! Welcome to all of our new students and welcome back to all of our returning students. To start the semester, we would like to introduce you to Riley Henderson, one of our departmental ambassadors for the 2023-24 academic year. We are very excited to have her on board. Riley is a senior working on her Bachelor of Science degree in Geography with a concentration in Environmental Science.

Riley grew up in Fort Worth, TX and has lived in the DFW metroplex her entire life. Her passion and dream of wanting to travel to different places that have natural beauty (e.g., Big Bend in Texas) around the U.S. drew her to geography. Her love for the natural world and the various areas one could pursue in geography helped solidify her educational career path. Riley mentioned, "[she has] always been specifically interested in water and how it flows through our beautiful planet. From small streams and ponds to huge oceans and underground reservoirs." She loves all the different living species, especially fish. She's also interested in the logistics of supply and demand of water resources necessary for the human population's survival. This summer Riley held an internship with McNenny State Fish Hatchery and Cleghorn Springs State Fish Hatchery in South Dakota. There, she worked with her internship coordinator, Mike Barnes to create two manuscripts, "An Initial Survey of Unionid Mussels in Lakes of Eastern South Dakota, USA" and "An Initial Survey of P. Grandis Age, Growth, and Mortality in Natural Lakes and Reservoirs of South Dakota, USA". She was tasked with creating a structured synopsis of the work performed into different topics in the papers. At the hatcheries she was also charged with various tasks, took care of different fish species (during the different stages of life), and helped with relocating them to different bodies of water across western South Dakota. During this time, Riley said she found what her niche was in life.

We asked Riley what she enjoyed about being an undergraduate student at UNT. We found a common theme between her answer and those of other students we have profiled. She commented that she enjoys how diverse, good-natured, and authentic people are at UNT. She is excited about the opportunities she has been given with her education. Besides enjoying the classes that she is taking, Riley believes she is equipped for exciting opportunities for a career in water resources (e.g., she is obtaining the Water Resources Certificate).

After graduating from her undergraduate program Riley plans to pursue her master's degree in wildlife and fisheries sciences. Her long-term plan is to get a job working with recirculation aquaculture systems in the hatcheries and fisheries here in the United States. Riley said, "it will be somewhere with beautiful mountains and wildlife."

Here are some fun facts about Riley. She loves learning songs on her kalimba. Its beautiful sound relaxes her heart and mind. She loves finding knick-knacks and different things to fill her room with. She also enjoys finding opportunities to brighten someone's day through a compliment or a conversation. Riley shared one fun thing she enjoys doing in Denton: hiking the trails at Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center. Clear Creek is about 20 minutes from the UNT campus, and Riley mentioned she enjoys the Wetlands and Prairie trail at this outdoor recreation area. This hike takes walkers through the woods, some prairie, and portions where you can go down to the creek, where Riley likes to go fishing. So, if you are in the area, you should go check out Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center. Especially if you need a change of scenery this semester!