2025Vol42No3NBUJournal

Jake Struby

Jake Struby is a rising junior at the University of Notre Dame majoring in Neuroscience and Behavior and minoring in Theology. He has lived in Nevada for his whole life and thoroughly enjoys spending time in the outdoors, whether it be camping and fishing at amazing places like Wall Canyon Reservoir or volunteering at the Maison T. Ortiz camp at Winnemucca Ranch. He loves working with kids at camps like MTO and Camp Sweeney in Texas, where he is currently helping kids with Type 1 Diabetes stay active while managing their diabetes. After college, he hopes to attend medical school, continue volunteering with youth organizations, and further the mission of conserving Nevada’s unique ecosystems so that future generations may also have a chance to experience our home’s rugged beauty. I was born and raised in Reno and I currently attend University of Nevada, Reno. This next semester I will be starting my sophomore/junior year and I plan to study abroad in Spain in the spring of 2026. My whole life I have loved doing anything outdoors from sports, hiking, hunting, and much more. Nevada is a special place to me because of the diverse environment and the opportunity to do so much outside given the 4 seasons and the different landscapes we have access to. Growing up my family would spend lots of time in the summers hiking and enjoying the weather at Donner Lake which is only about 30 minutes away. Come the fall, we would be gearing up for whatever big game hunt we may have gotten the opportunity to participate in and that has always been a fun time of year no matter the outcome of the hunt. I hope to attend med school after UNR and pursue a career that gives back to my community and I would like to once again give my thanks for this scholarship and to see my goals furthered once again. My name is Montana Strozzi. I am attending the University of Nevada, Reno studying Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. I have a great passion for wildlife and conservation and hope to be a wildlife biologist one day. I just got done with another summer working for NDOW on stream survey and I had the best summer. It grew my passion for fisheries greatly and I am excited to pursue that! I am so grateful for this scholarship as it helps me so much, and I am excited to have a great school year.

Matt Welch

Montana Strozzi

Ryane Humes

I am going into my Junior year at Oklahoma State University studying Animal Science with a focus in pre-veterinary science and minors in Microbiology and Wildlife Ecology. I hope to attend Vet school and will be applying this cycle. My goal is to pursue a career as a large animal veterinarian and help with conservation in both the wildlife and agricultural sectors. This year I will be representing Nevada as a member of the OSU Spirit Rider team and will being joining our live mascot Bullet on the field for gamedays. I am a 5th generation Nevadan hunter, and I enjoy spending time in the mountains with my family. I am very grateful for being selected for this scholarship.

Zoe Smith

Hi, my name is Zoe Smith. I just recently graduated from Feather River College in Quincy, CA, with an associate degree in environmental science and will be attending the University of Nevada, Reno, this fall to begin studying Rangeland Ecology and Management. With that being said, I am extremely excited to see what this next step in my educational journey has to offer and can’t wait to expand upon my knowledge in this field of study. After I am done with my studies, I hope to pursue a career in the state of Nevada as either a Manager in Biodiversity of Rangelands for a mining company or a Rangeland/Natural Resource Specialist for a government agency. I would like to extend my thanks to the NBU scholarship committee for choosing me as one of the recipients of the 2025 NBU Legacy scholarship. I am extremely honored to have been chosen to receive a scholarship from an organization that contributes so much to enhancing Nevada’s wildlife, natural resources, and the sportsmen lifestyle. This scholarship will be a tremendous help in funding my studies throughout my next year of college, and I could not be more grateful.

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