Gress in as Wildlife Club president

Justin Gress grew up in the small town of Heber, in eastern Nebraska. The son of a game warden, he found himself in the outdoors often. When it came time to go off to college, Gress chose to attend Chadron State College as a rangeland wildlife major hoping to someday follow in his dad’s footsteps. 

As a freshman, Gress got involved with CSC’s Wildlife Club and quickly became one of its more active members. This semester, as a sophomore, he’s taken over the reins as the club’s new president.

Gress was elected last semester after the graduation of former president Travis Millikan left the position vacant. The sophomore said he was surprised by his appointment, although he’d been very active in the club over the two semesters since joining. 

Though still early in his CSC career, Gress brings ample outdoor experience to the position. 

“All I did growing up was hunt and fish, so the outdoors is nothing new to me,” he said. Gress is passionate about the outdoors and said he likes to help introduce others to the hobby as well. Last year he helped three people bag their first turkeys. 

Like any leader at the college during this time of pandemic, Gress hopes to do his best this year to keep things as normal as possible with the club, though there are sure to be changes. He’s hopeful things will go as smoothly as possible with the club this semester and plans to open the floor to club members to determine what their year will include as far as club activities. 

Being outdoors-heavy, Gress said Wildlife Club is lucky, maintaining social distancing should be relatively easy during the club’s outdoor activities. Rather than having groups of people spending time in a shared room doing activities, he’d rather get members outside, hunting, fishing, hiking or otherwise enjoying nature. 

As president, he’s also looking to plan as many volunteer opportunities as he can and said he’s reached out to Nebraska Game & Parks and the State to explore what they might have available in the near future. 

“I like to get people involved,” Gress said. “I’ve always loved volunteering. It’s good for resumes and you meet a lot of good people you might end up working with.”

During his time as president, Millikan helped swell the ranks of the club which is uniquely positioned for another heavy recruiting semester as Americans across the nation have looked to outdoor activities to escape the monotony of social distancing. 

“This year I think a lot of people are getting tired of being inside,” Gress said. “There’s always something to do outside in Chadron.”