Posted: 4/5/2025
Schmaderer gains from Crane Trust internship
By Ronica Stromberg
Garret Schmaderer interned at the Crane Trust last summer, an experience he said benefited him beyond meeting the fisheries and wildlife degree requirement to complete a research project or internship.
"It helped me learn a lot and helped me choose what path I wanted to take," the junior said.
Schmaderer worked from May to August at the Crane Trust in land management and has added an emphasis in land management to the fisheries and wildlife degree he's working on.
At the Crane Trust, he removed a lot of fencing with a skid loader but also gained exposure to the organization's scientific side. He worked with its bison herd and helped carry out slough fish seining surveys, bird counts and vegetation surveys.
He said his favorite parts were learning about the bison and seeing how the organization ran.
"Seeing what it takes to operate all the ins and outs with grant work and all the moving parts, to see the decisions that they make and then the land management team putting them into action and stuff like that," he said.
The Crane Trust is about 40 miles from his hometown, Kearney, and he would like to return to the area after college.
"I grew up hunting on the Platte River," Schmaderer said. "So, being able to work around the Platte River, where the Crane Trust is located, would be really cool."
As a child, he hunted waterfowl, turkeys and deer with an uncle, and those experiences influenced his later career choice.
"I figured out that I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, so why not pursue a field in it," he said.
The staff at the Crane Trust was great, he said, and everyone was helpful and willing to pass on their knowledge.
He said he would welcome the chance to return to the Crane Trust this summer but he is open to other job opportunities also.
"I don't want to pigeonhole myself because I liked this, but I also don't want to leave it because I liked it," he said.
He recommended other students seek career experience in a job or internship before graduating.
"If you can get something related to what you want to do, I would encourage most everyone to do so," he said.
