Seeing the Forest

The word "spirit" comes to mind when speaking with Tina Terrell. Whether she's discussing Penn State Nittany Lion football or protecting forestland, there's a passion in her voice that commands attention.

Tina is the supervisor of the 460,000-acre Cleveland National Forest near San Diego, Calif. Responsible for 440 park employees, a 30-engine firefighting force stationed in the forest, and the safety of every camper, hiker and tourist who visits, Tina has a lot on her mind.

Ask her about Penn State, though, and she'll find time to talk. Terrell attended the University Park campus from 1983 to 1987. Amazingly, she remains the only African American to earn a bachelor's degree in forestry from the University Park campus.

Terrell grew up in west Philadelphia, where there are not a lot of trees to enjoy. Her mother introduced her to Penn State football at the age of 2. Her Saturdays, from that point on, were spent tracking the success of the Nittany Lions and head coach Joe Paterno. She can tell you the history of the team from 1967 to today.

"Penn State is the only school I applied to - it's the only school I would ever have applied to," she says.

Fairmont Park in Philadelphia started her love of the outdoors. During her high school years, inner-city counselors pointed her toward more urban careers such as being a doctor or lawyer. But, her Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores indicated environmental science.

Terrell enrolled in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and selected environmental resource management as her major. After her first year, she was contacted by a recruiter looking for minority students in the forestry field to work a summer job just outside Philadelphia. At that time, there were none, but Tina took the job.

That summer, her eyes were opened to the power that humans hold over nature, and the responsibility that comes with it. During the course of the forestry job, she saw a massive tree cut down.

"It was the power of a human to kill something that God created," she reflects. "It's very important that we use, not abuse, our resources." After that summer, she decided to switch her major to forestry.

It quickly became obvious to Terrell that she was the only African American in her major classes, and one of just a handful of women. However, Rex Melton, a professor in the School of Forest Resources and her adviser at the time, saw something special in Terrell.

"He was there to nurture interest and help students survive and thrive," Tina recalls. She still remembers his love of forestry and people. "I want to return the favor that Rex did for me to other young people."

And she is returning that favor by recruiting for the Cleveland National Forest and environmental awareness in general. She admits there's a misconception about agricultural sciences.

"Eighty percent of Americans live in urban centers. They just don't know about the opportunities," she says. "They don't know they can go into forestry."

For the most part, the agricultural sciences aren't promoted in the inner city, according to Terrell. The professions are considered dirty jobs, dealing with bugs and animals. Overall, they just aren't appealing to urban youth.

One of her strategies in recruiting is to let young people know they can have any kind of job, anywhere, in the agricultural sciences.

"If you want to work in an office, you can. If you want to work in the field, you can. If you want to work with technology, it's there," she says. "What people don't understand is that it takes more people, more activity, marketing and technology to sell a gallon of milk than just milking a cow.

"We need to communicate with and educate the people in the inner city," Terrell says. "Let them know they can have a say in this field. It's their land. It does have an impact on them."