Student Awards
The Florida Division held its annual business meeting and awards breakfast on the first day of the SAF/SFRC Spring Symposium held at the Paramount Hotel in Gainesville.
Dennis Pawlowski is the recipient of the Florida Division Rising Senior Forestry Student Award for outstanding academic scholarship, leadership, and potential. His GPA as a Natural Resource Conservation major at UF/SFRC is 3.85. Dennis is a member of Gamma Sigma Delta and SAF and member/secretary of Xi Sigma Pi. Since 1995, he has served as a Plant City police officer. He has started the non-profit Trinity Special Sportsman Ministries, which provides quality hunting or fishing trips to the disabled, terminally ill, or fatherless. His degree will give him the experience to manage large parcels of land to provide the best possible experience for future clients.
Devon McFall receives the Florida Division Outstanding Graduating Senior in Forestry Award for academic performance and leadership potential in SAF. A Forest Resources and Conservation major, he has a GPA of 3.86. He obtained an Associate of Arts degree with honors from Daytona Beach CC. Devon is a member of Xi Sigma Pi, UF Chapter SAF, Florida Forestry Association, and National Scholars Honor Society. As Forestry Club President, he led a food drive service project for Alachua County Schools, firewood sale and t-shirt sale fundraisers, and arranged an array of speakers about jobs/internships. He was active in planning and conducting the 2008 UF hosted ASFC Forestry Conclave. He has worked as a research assistant for the FBRC with Dr. Staudhammer and Brian Roth and for Dr. Jose at Etoniah Creek S.F. Devon also had a summer internship with the USFS at Giant Sequoia National Monument/Sequoia National Forest doing regeneration sampling, insect sampling, genetic cone crop counts, and some GIS/GPS. Upon graduating, he hopes to work as a forester with a public agency or a natural resource consulting firm. His longer term plans include a Masters that would allow him to incorporate research into upper level management for sustainable, multiple use forestry.