Meet Saskia van de Gevel, the new dean of the College of Natural Resources and Environment

I'm Audra Upchurch, Vice Chair of the College of Natural Resources and Environment Dean's Advisory Council, and I'm here with our new dean, Saskia Vandegavel, and we are very excited to learn a little bit more about her today. Thanks so much, Audra. Tell us about your background and how natural resources played a role in your early life. So I grew up in the United States and then also in the Netherlands, And so I spent time camping outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in different state and national parks. But then I also went camping a lot in Europe, which was really fun with family there. And just that outside experience, being immersed in nature and seeing forests, whether they're planted or whether they're natural, really inspired me. And I just had that draw of wanting to be in the woods as much as possible, being part of outdoors clubs, being part of rafting trips. Anything that I could do that was outside really felt like home to me more than an urban environment. And so in high school, I really explored, like, what kinds of careers can I have that leads me to the outdoors? And then I majored in forestry at Penn State, my master's degree in forestry at Southern Illinois University. And I got interested in tree rings during those times with internships and having real lab experiences at Penn State. and then went on to get a PhD in geography. I have spent the last 18 years of my life in the Appalachian Mountains and so it feels like home to me and then I've worked with colleagues across the college whether it's in geography or in forestry on different projects or through different service opportunities so it does feel very comfortable to me and I'm so proud to be part of Virginia Tech. So forestry is Virginia's third largest private industry. What do you see as the college's role in this industry and other industries across the state? How I see our role is we're training the next leaders in natural resources and so whether they are involved in the supply chain from growing trees to mills to lumber yards to paper products or whether it's somewhere in the form of advocacy, nonprofit work, policy, consulting. It really runs the gamut of anything related to forest growth and protection and having forests for the next generations. What are some of the current fisheries and wildlife management research projects that the college is leading and that is getting you excited? Well I'm really excited about our students getting involved in research and Fish and Wildlife has done an exceptional job of having undergrads, grad students and postdocs involved in research related to shorebirds related to white shark big data research and so we have exceptional faculty that have won national and international awards and all of them involve students in their research how does virginia tech's packaging program prepare students for success in the workforce our students in packaging get a completely immersive hands-on experience in packaging so they not only have a solid foundation and sustainability and sustainable products whether that's with polymers whether it's the chemistry side the packaging side looking at sustainable materials but all the way from commercial products all the way to building supplies and so the scale of it is really interesting to students going from something quite small so how do we make plastic bottles more sustainable to quite large like how we make more sustainable buildings and so our students are really gravitated toward that problem-solving side and that critical thinking side related to packaging solutions for not just the Virginia Commonwealth but around the world. And how do you see your role engaging across the college and the university and industry? Our industry partners are critically important because they not only inform us in terms of where the industries are moving and what the trends are and how we tie into the larger economy but also they really tell us what they value most about our students how our students are problem solving with them how their career ready what skills they find more useful in our students that make them ready to lead when they graduate and what does Virginia Tech's motto mean to you it really means is a land-grant institution us giving back. We need to give back to the Virginia Commonwealth, but also to communities around the world. And we do that through investing in our students' leadership, in industry, in nonprofits, in different organizations locally and then around the world as well. But really having the heart of environmental stewards and that dedication to building our next environmental leaders. And as the new Dean, what are your initial priorities? As the new Dean, my initial priorities are making sure that college is accessible for our students, that we're able to support them when they need it, whether that is through scholarships, whether that is through experiential learning and study abroad experiences or internships, and then also are they able to access pivotal research experiences that transform how they think about science. We want to make sure that our students are able to maximize their college experience through programs in our college and make sure that we can take them out in the field, have them explore different cultures around the world, and learn how people look at environmental stewardship differently. And what do you see as future opportunities for the college and those students? Having more study abroad programs, more field courses, what really sets our program apart and our college apart is the hands-on experiences the students have in the classroom and in the field. So whether it's in fish and wildlife when they do their 10-day field course or it's in forestry going on an industry tour and seeing how trees are grown to how they're milled and then what we produce out of those timber products, we really look at how can students view themselves in the field after they graduate and what skills do we need to give them here so that they feel like they can be successful right away. Audra, you've done a great job of supporting me in this role in just the last few months, but really getting dedicated alum, dedicated students that want to see the long-term success of our college by sharing their stories, sharing internship opportunities, employment opportunities with our current students, and really embracing the Hokie spirit and always wanting to serve others. You