Lauren C. Eckert
Experiences
Les Voyageurs Organization
I have dedicated the past three years to serving as a Student Ambassador for the College of Agriculture's Les Voyageurs organization. Selected as one of sixteen student representatives, I have held two leadership positions: Public Relations Chair and, currently, Vice President. In my role as Vice President, I led our annual participation in College Aggies Online, a national competition where we collaborate and promote agricultural awareness and advocacy. Through Les Voyageurs, I regularly give tours to prospective students and visit high schools to promote the College of Agriculture and communicate the academic opportunities and student experiences. This organization has provided me opportunities to travel nationally while representing the College, contributing to my personal development. Overall, my involvement has provided me with the experience of engaging with diverse audiences, organizing outreach events, and building meaningful connections within Louisiana's agricultural community.
International study tour: Agriculture in the Czech Republic
In the spring of 2023, I had the opportunity to study abroad in the Czech Republic, visiting Prague, Brno, and Kutná Hora. In preparation for the trip, our group spent two months studying the country's history and culture, giving presentations to one another, and learning basic Czech through Duolingo. While abroad, we visited Mendel University, where we learned about their agricultural programs and engaged with faculty and students to compare agricultural education between our countries. We also took a day trip to Vienna, Austria, where we met with U.S. Ambassador to Austria Victoria Kennedy to discuss international relations and agricultural policy.
Dallas Zoo Internship
During the summer of 2025, I had the unique opportunity to intern as a zookeeper at the Dallas Zoo, where I worked closely with elephants and African ungulates. Over the course of my internship, I developed a deep appreciation for the animals in my care and gained valuable insight into their distinct personalities, social dynamics, and responses to environmental changes. Through daily responsibilities such as habitat maintenance, diet preparation, and enrichment design, I learned how even subtle adjustments in routine can influence animal behavior. This hands-on experience strengthened my interest in studying behavioral patterns.
Volunteering with LDWF
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) communicated with professors in the Renewable Natural Resources department to recruit student volunteers for hands-on fieldwork alongside professional wildlife biologists, which let me to participate in several opportunities. Such as joining LDWF teams on multiple duck-banding trips, where I gained experience in wildlife handling of wood ducks and black-bellied whistling ducks. Additionally, I have joined in on a managed deer hunt where every deer that was harvested was brought back to our check station, where we aged, weighed, and tested for chronic wasting disease.
