From connections to conservation, student interested in wildlife career finds everything she needs at UK

As a University of Kentucky student, Callie Black has “the best of both worlds.”  

From Knox County, Kentucky, Black was drawn to UK because Lexington was “a sweet spot” for someone interested in both wildlife conservation and the opportunities that a bigger city brings. Black will be a senior in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment in the fall, majoring in natural resources and environmental science (NRES) with a wildlife specialization and biology minor.

“There are so many places in Lexington that I could reach out to,” Black said. “But on top of that, being in environmental science, you want to be close to nature. And I think Lexington is just such a good place because you can drive 30 minutes away and go to a place that feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere.”

That includes Lancaster, Kentucky, where Black worked during the spring of her junior year on an undergraduate research project with John Cox, Ph.D., professor of wildlife and conservation biology in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources.