CAHNRS Talk Tuesday: Alec Solemslie

Each week, we showcase one of our CAHNRS Ambassadors, a student leadership organization that encourages students to pursue higher education and serves as a liaison between the college and the greater community. This week, we’re featuring Alec Solemslie, a senior from Big Lake, Wash.

What are you studying?

I’m majoring in Forestry.

Favorite Show/Movie:

The Crown

Favorite Cougar Tradition:

“Once a Coug, always a Coug.” It is as simple as that. The alumni and community WSU creates every year will last a lifetime. Alumni are always giving back to this community through scholarships, job opportunities, and sharing their wisdom. Meeting a fellow Coug on the street and both of us proudly saying “Go Cougs!” makes any day tenfold better. Never underestimate the legacy of WSU.

Favorite CAHNRS Commodity:

The plants from plant sales are the best. My family (myself included) cannot limit ourselves when it comes to the Horticulture Club plant sales throughout the year (especially Mom’s Weekend!). There’s just something about those incredibly grown plants that we can’t avoid, no matter how hard we try. As an added bonus, these sales help provide student scholarships for club members! The plants bring us joy, our homes color, and provide us with an opportunity to give back to the CAHNRS community!

Why be a CAHNRS Coug?

Instead of me choosing CAHNRS, CAHNRS chose me. I came to CAHNRS for my major, but as I began to experience everything that the college has to offer, I realized something: the community—the faculty and students—is irreplaceable. Everyone within this college is so passionate and devoted to the success of others and the community that this ‘CAHNRS Family’ concept is not something to take lightly. It has changed not only my life, but those of everyone around me as we share in the community that CAHNRS has created within each and every one of us. CAHNRS is not merely a college but rather an experience—an unforgettable one.

Best Student Experience:

It is extremely difficult to chose just one great experience. I would have to say all the student organizations that I have been involved with in CAHNRS and WSU have provided me with the best student experiences. The friends and opportunities from these clubs have been out of this world! Especially now in my last year as I work with upcoming student leaders on campus, there is an indescribable joy and pride watching and helping fellow students discover their potential. I hope to guide these future leaders just as someone led me four years ago.

CAHNRS Taught Me:

The possibilities that CAHNRS provides for all our students has really resonated with me. As I end my undergraduate career, CAHNRS has taught me to expand my horizons, seize the moment, and constantly search for opportunities. The forestry degree I wanted when I entered my freshman year is very different than the forestry degree I have now. The best part is that I wouldn’t have it any other way. While it has been a difficult path, the lessons I have learned from being challenged and seeking out possibilities have made me the person I am today. In short, the experiences I have had in CAHNRS have really taught me to never stop learning and never stop exploring.