A BIG Texas sized congratulations goes out to Joseph Richards for being chosen as the 2024 Bob Hood Scholarship recipient! Joseph is a current student at Texas Tech with a promising career in wildlife management and research as a biologist. He has already established himself in the field with various publications. We are very excited to see where his career paths will lead him.
More about Joseph Richards
Career Goals -
My passion to pursue a career in wildlife management and research has been cultivated by years of hunting, fishing, camping, writing, and photographing with my family in the outdoors. Photography, in particular, has taught me skills of observation critical for interpreting animal behavior and the subtle changes of the landscape that are often undetected by many. I intend to use my skills in this craft as an asset to my wildlife career by sharing my encounters to inspire all interested non-professionals, students, and seasoned professionals about stewardship and natural resources conservation.
After getting feedback from several professionals in the wildlife field, I became highly motivatedm to pursue an advanced-level education in order to enhance my career mobility and open pathways towards future leadership roles. Given this, I am currently in my second year of a master’s thesis investigating the important, yet often understudied role of invertebrates in context of wild turkey diets to inform land managers on the importance of implementing habitat management practices best suited for enhancing the presence of desirable invertebrate species. My study also serves secondary functions by creating natural history collections from the captured invertebrate specimens to be used for informing future conservation efforts, monitoring environmental quality, and serving as an education resource. This all-encompassing approach simultaneously benefits the research of a harvestable gamebird while also documenting biodiversity of a previously undervalued taxa with potentially unknown benefits to society.
After graduating with my master’s degree, I will apply for a full-time biologist position with either the state (Texas Parks & Wildlife Department) or in a private sector. I plan to continue working as a freelance wildlife photographer and outdoor writer for Texas Wildlife Magazine. I will also continue to use my career in wildlife to expand my network and create new opportunities to collaborate on conservation story projects in the state and abroad.
