Outstanding forestry student Robert Seibold may have taken the long road to graduation, but the life experience was worth it This December could take on a new meaning for Robert Seibold, when he plans to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in forestry. For years, the month meant the start of ski season. On the other hand, spring for Seibold means river guide training. And summer isn’t time off—it’s high season for tourism and a time to work. That’s because Seibold, who was named Outstanding Senior by his peers in the forestry program and members of the UGA Forestry Club, took a break midway through his time at the University of Georgia to work seasonal jobs at parks and natural recreation areas across the United States. The original plan was to leave for a year, but the lure of the Grand Tetons and the experiences on kayaks, cross-country skis and show shoes kept him away from campus for just a little bit longer. Seibold started at UGA with forestry in mind. He can’t remember whether it came up during a visit or for freshman orientation, but at some point, he recalls, someone directed him to the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. At the time he was considering five different majors, but “the (forestry) class list seemed more interesting to me,” he says. “It was just different; growing trees sounds pretty fun to me. And I can always work with people if I choose to and develop those skills.” After his second year, Seibold stumbled. His attendance dropped off, as did his grades. He took a semester off, worked around Athens and then returned part-time to bring his grades back up. Then, he picked up and moved out West. “Yeah, it was only supposed to be a year, and it turned into like 3½ years,” says Seibold. “I worked at national parks—I worked as a dish washer, then I worked at a ski resort as a lift operator. I worked in the Tetons as a marine attendant.” The scenery was beautiful, but the jobs were, well, boring. “I wanted to do something that was more outdoorsy. I was meeting people who were raft guides and naturalists, and I thought that sounded much more interesting,” he adds. “Then I started doing naturalist work, and that’s what got me in a better mindset for school. I was taking people on tours and doing various things, and essentially it felt like it got me more confident in school, to where I wasn’t afraid to speak up and ask questions.” You know that awkward silence in a classroom, when the teacher asks a question, and nobody has an answer? That used to bother Seibold. But now, he says, he doesn’t have a problem speaking up. After coming back to Warnell, Seibold applied for and was accepted into the Student Ambassador program, which also gave him more public speaking and leadership skills. Kind of like the time he led a snowshoe tour and had never worn snowshoes before. But even as a student—working remotely to finish out the spring semester like his classmates because of the coronavirus—part of Seibold is still connected to adventures on trails and waterways. Spring, he says, is when raft guides in Alaska are trained for the upcoming season. Or, at least, they were, until social distancing became the norm. “I was in Alaska three years ago, being a raft guide,” he says. “They train this time each year. But now nobody can go up there this time of year and do training.” Ideally, when his graduation rolls around this December, Seibold and other students will be back in a more normal routine. When he’s asked where, ideally, he wants to land after graduation, Seibold considers the typical spring start times for jobs he’s seen. Then, he considers the weeks in between graduation and the start of his career. December, he remembers, is ski season. “I’ll probably be at a ski resort, for the rest of the ski season,” he says, smiling.
