MAGIC VALLEY — After seeing the wildfires in California and Oregon, Evando Vega, a University of Idaho student was motivated to join the U.S. Forest Service to help prevent future fires.
“I want to make a difference you know because the generation that is going into the workforce, the people are coming in. now it's our turn to make a difference," Vega said.
Vega was also motivated after seeing a cousin work as a forester and knew he wanted to follow in his footsteps to make a difference.
“The wildfires that have been happening are just because our forests are too dense and it’s just a lack of management practices like thinning," Vega said.
His goal is to be able to do something about that by one day being in charge of implementing forest management plans to lessen the risk of wildfires.
“It’s motivating me a lot more now to look into what I can do in the future and to hopefully mitigate that so that way there are fewer wildfires,” Vega said.
Vega is a first-generation college student and is the first to graduate from college in his family. He hopes his story inspires other first-generation college students to never give up.
“Just put in your 100% never give up and everything should work out," Vega said.
