Connor McHugh

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to end up in the environmental field. As soon as I was old enough to operate a TV remote, I would wake up before the rest of my family to watch Animal Planet shows. Since then, Steve Irwin has always been my idol. Once I started high school, I began developing my passion for storytelling. I joined as many arts and storytelling clubs as I could, even acting as the first president of my school's Comic and Cartooning Club. When it was time to apply to universities, I knew I wanted to go somewhere that had an innovative science program but also had space for storytelling opportunities. 

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That's when I started at Colorado State University. Our campus is fortunate to have incredible natural resources, natural science, and agricultural science programs. Once arrived on campus, I was drawn to the Department of Journalism & Media Communication. This department houses the Center for Science Communication. The faculty in this Center offers a whole range of undergraduate classes focusing on science communication. I mixed these classes with media production. In May 2022, I graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Journalism & Media Communication and a minor in Film Studies. Then, I went directly into the Master of Conservation Leadership program offered by the Warner College of Natural Resources. This program focuses on the social solutions to conservation issues by providing academic, classroom-based training as well as experiential, field-based opportunities. ​