• Allyson McQuiston and five co-workers laughing together in a potato field.

    Ecology Graduate Digs Into Soil Conservation from Coast to Coast, Unearths USDA Career

    College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES) student Allyson McQuiston planted seeds for a bright future in soil conservation two years ago and will soon be rewarded with a bountiful harvest. McQuiston, an applied ecology and environmental science major, graduates this month with a career firmly in place as a soil conservationist thanks to her internship journey. After spending two summers interning with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, she received a full-time job offer from the USDA NRCS late last year, and will begin her position this fall. She was drawn to the intern position, she said, because she is "really into soil" and wanted to get her foot in the USDA's door.