Graduates of the Arboriculture and Community Forestry program have many career opportunities. Here are some recent grads who have made the most of their Stockbridge education:
Ed and Marcy Carpenter
Ed and Marcy met at UMass while pursuing degrees in Arboriculture and Community Forestry. Arboriculture is a huge piece of both their lives—they own and operate Arbor One Tree Service. Their passion for tree care developed while taking classes in entomology, pathology, botany, soil science, and tree identification. Marcy recently emailed, "Thanks to all of the amazing professors at Stockbridge we were able to learn so much and make caring for trees our life work."
Dan Cohen
Dan currently works as arborist at Hartney Greymont, a division of Davey Tree Experts. After a few years doing tree work, he has transitioned into a sales position and really appreciates that his, "Experience at Stockbridge gave me a great foundation for my career in arboriculture. The program does a great job preparing students for their careers. The small class sizes make for a better learning environment, and allows professors to actually get to know their students."
Alex Julius
Alex received her MS degree in 2012 and now works for the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), an organization of professional arborists and educators with 20,000 members worldwide. She is the ISA's educational develpment manager, developing educational material for arborists and tree owners. Her time at UMass helped her enormously, teaching her critical thinking skills and how to find solutions to complex problems. She also really enjoyed learning how to climb trees!
Alex Sherman
Alex received his MS degree in 2013 and is currently the assistant city forester in Springfield, MA. His coursework and research were directly related to the duties of new job. Alex says, "Managing trees in a city environment provides many challenges, but I am confident I can handle these challenges knowing I received a quality education from UMass.”
Andrew Tataronis
Andrew graduated with a B.S. in 2013 and currently works as an intern Arborist at historic Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. He was selected among many applicants for his current position and credits UMass and Stockbridge for preparing him for this position.
Mollie Freilicher
Mollie graduated with her MS in 2010 and currently works as the community action forester with the Urban and Community Forestry Program at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). In her position, she provides training and technical assistance for municipalities and non-profit organizations across the state to help them build their capacity to manage and advocate for public shade trees. In her words, "My education in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry at UMass helped me develop the knowledge-base and skills critical for my current work at DCR, and gave me the opportunity to establish key connections at state agencies that facilitated my job search when I was getting close to graduation. The program’s relationship with forestry staff at state agencies like DCR was definitely an asset when it came time to apply for jobs."
Kyle McCabe
In 2011, Kyle graduated with a BS in urban forestry. Currently, he owns and operates Northern Arboriculture LLC in southern New Hampshire. Kyle credits the strong science background and bird’s eye view of arboriculture he gained as a student at Stockbridge and UMass for enhancing his ability to connect with clients and educate them about the importance of good tree care. Backed by the knowledge and research he gained as a student, he now travels the US five weeks a year giving clinics on rope access and canopy positioning. Kyle has competed in many tree climbing championships, placing sixth overall at the North American Championship in 2011. “My love for the tree care industry was strong before college; now that I have finished the BS program, my passion has grown into endless opportunities.”