Tina Terrell: Connecting People to Nature

Name: Tina Terrell

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown & Current Town: Philadelphia, PA/Arlington, VA

Graduation Year: BS 1987

Major: BS Forest Science

Current Professional Title: Senior Executive for National Recruitment

Name of Employer: USDA Forest Service

Brief Description of Your Role/Profession: There are 154 National Forests and Grasslands across 43 states. After a dramatic increase in budget and legislative authorities over the past 3-4 years, leadership in the Forest Service knew we needed to hire and retain more employees in non-fire positions than we’ve had in the past (by almost 3,000) and increase and maintain partnerships with other organizations and communities. My work in this role has been to engage and recruit more people to work with or in the Forest Service, particularly within urban communities and communities of color. I open doors for others who may not think about or know about the opportunity to work for the Forest Service.

Why did you choose Penn State?

I chose Penn State when I was two and a half years old. I have two sisters and I’m the middle child. My mother was a very big influence on me. My mother loved football and particularly college football. We would always watch Penn State football. My mother would tell this story that one Saturday an electrician came to the house and I was jumping up and down saying I was going to be a Penn Stater. The electrician couldn’t believe that I knew at that age that I was going to be a Nittany Lion. But I had fallen in love with the football team. I didn’t know what I was going to major in. It didn’t bother me that the school was nearly four hours from home in State College. That s where I was going to go.

I only applied to one university. If I didn't get into Penn State I said I wasn't going to college. My mother raised all her daughters to go to college. We all went and all graduated. When I graduated in December of 1987, I decided I was going to be a lifetime member of the Alumni Association. I saved up my money for three years and joined. I love Penn State and I always have.

What inspired you to pursue your degree?

My mother grew up with 21 brothers and sisters in South Carolina on a farm. A big family was needed to take care of the farm. When my mother was 17 years old, she moved to Philadelphia with her sister.

My mother always had a fondness for nature. In Philadelphia, she wanted to make sure her daughters had a connection to nature too. Every Friday in the spring, we'd go to Fairmont Park. I loved it and never wanted to leave. I'm fortunate that she loved looking at and being around nature.

I knew I wanted to do something with the environment, but I originally thought I'd pursue electrical engineering, but I put environmental resource management as my second choice. Before I entered Penn State as a freshman, I ended up switching majors to my second choice. I didnt know what it was, but I knew it involved the environment and that's what I wanted.

One of my mentors, Marquita Chamblee, who was a master's student at Penn State at the time, worked with Dr. Bill Henson and they were working to bring more people of color into the agricultural fields. This is why part of what I do is mentor and bring people into an area they don t know about.

At the end of my first year, when I was 19, she received a call from the Forest Service looking for an African American in forestry to come work for them for the summer in Philadelphia. She recommended me and I took the temporary job. I was in the Forest Inventory and Analysis unit in Radnor. That year, we were inventorying forest resources in Massachusetts. Thanks to that experience I knew I found something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I called my mother from Massachusetts and told her I wanted to be a forester. My mom told me if I wanted to be a forester, I can be a forester.

I then told my supervisor and he told me to change my major to forestry. He also offered me a summer job for the next three years and said I'd have a permanent position after I graduated. Ever since, I've had many people question my desire to be a forester because I was female, African American, and from an urban background. I didn't care if people told me I couldn't do it, my mother said I could.

I've been with the Forest Service for 41 years and have held 19 different positions. I love the variety of work that we do. I have lived in 14 different locations and traveled to 49 of the 50 states. I love that I take care of your land. We take care of the nation's forests and grasslands for current and future generations. This is our legacy.

What clubs, organizations, or leadership roles were you involved in?

I was part of Xi Sigma Pi, the professional forestry society. I was also a member of the Society of American Foresters. Marquita and Dr. Henson helped establish MANRRS, of which I was a founding member as a sophomore.

I was also mentored by Dr. (Rex) Melton, who advised me on what classes to take. The first day of my sophomore year, I signed up for a dendrology class, an ecology class, and an introduction to forestry class. That first week, I looked around and realized I didn't see anyone who looked like me. I started getting nervous that I made the wrong decision. However, I had a professor who told me that Penn State was here to help and that I could do this and make it in forestry.

I bring that story up because that's how MANRRS got started. I realized I could be a mentor for other students coming in who aren't thinking about agriculture and forestry and show them that they can do it too. We were the second university to establish MANRRS. I remain engaged with MANRRS to this day. I was on the executive team. It’s my foundation.

What is a favorite Penn State memory?

My friends and I always attended the football games. My friends and I would make bets about the score of each game and the loser would have to buy drinks or something along those lines. I knew Penn State football well and I often won the bets. I was always winning and I won again on the last game of the 1987 season where Penn State defeated Notre Dame.

Another memory deals with the first MANRRS conference at Michigan State. I had taken six months off for my job with the Forest Service. I took a bus back to campus and then got into a van to go to Michigan State for the conference. There were about 40 of us, and I remember thinking, at the time, how hard it would be for us to keep this going with so few people. I realized then how important it is to engage people to sustain an organization.

What have been some of the keys to your professional success?

The first key is not to stay comfortable with where you are. I always try to see and take opportunities as they come along.

Second, reach for the sky and set a bar that's really high. You can achieve anything, but it's not just the achievement that matters; it's the work to reach that achievement. Another way to think about it is to reach for the mountaintop. It'll often lead to more mountaintops. There will also always be valleys and pitfalls, but realize there will be another peak to reach and an achievement to attain.

Finally, achieve through others. I realized that I can lead efforts, but it's teamwork that helps you achieve goals. You get a lot more glory and fulfillment when the team reaches its goal. People will always remember the joy of being part of a team and reaching an achievement together.

What advice or professional development tip would you give to a current student?

Be willing to take a chance. You may feel uncomfortable because it's human nature to be comfortable. But life is uncomfortable. That doesn't mean it's wrong. Take a chance and be willing to step out there.

Be willing to ask for help along the way. That's how we all learn.

Finally, develop relationships with others. Back when I started with the Forest Service, I didn't even know it existed until my mentor connected me. Every job I've had with the Forest Service, someone has said to me that I'd be good for that job. Relationships are what fulfills you and connects you to others. That's what human nature is about. You want to enhance and build upon those relationships because that is how success occurs.

Why are you proud to be a Penn State Ag Sciences alum?

I’m proud to be an Ag Sciences alumna, first because of Maslow's Hierarchy. Maslow's Hierarchy says that as human beings we need three things: food, clothing, and shelter. Agriculture, including forestry, deals with all three. We are the foundation for society to continue to exist and we'll always be that foundation.

A big challenge we face is connecting our population to nature. Most people live in urban areas and don't have that connection. How do we help people understand and know that we need natural resources to sustain our society, to provide food and shelter, but also for satisfaction and enjoyment?

We saw during COVID that people wanted to get outside and they were out enjoying the beauty of the world. I get to do that all the time. I work where people pay to play, like being on top of a glacier in Alaska or traversing the Grand Canyon in Arizona for example. I enjoy helping people from cities establish a connection with our environment. This is why I’m proud to be an Ag Sciences alumna.