J-School grad student takes reins of South and Southeast Asian Students' Association

Quite a few miles separate small-town Missoula from the massive metropolis of Pune, India. Nearly 8,000 miles, in fact.

But that's the journey Apoorva Joshi undertook last summer in anticipation of beginning her studies in the two-year master's of Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism program at The University of Montana. Her decision to enroll in an environmental journalism program at UM was no coincidence, says Joshi.

With its close proximity to such well-known natural landscapes as Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, the program was a natural fit. For Joshi, an environmental journalism program located in a big city location just wouldn't cut it. "An environmental program should let you be in the environment," says this enthusiastic fan of all things wildlife.

Joshi's international perspective is a welcome addition to the now two-year-old Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism program at UM. And this isn't the only place she's made a valuable addition to the campus community. Because of her outgoing personality and interest in participating in campus activities, Joshi has been asked to take over as president of the South and Southeast Asian Students' Association.

She will take the reins of the organization at the beginning of the 2012 spring semester. Students who participate in the organization hail from countries like Pakistan, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia.

Being able to connect with students from home and surrounding countries is one of the primary reasons Joshi decided to become involved, despite her busy schedule in graduate school. "I think it will be fun. I've always been someone who likes to meet new people and talk and make friends."

One of Joshi's first goals is to get the organization registered with the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM). She's not even certain how many students are associated with the organization since it's not registered. "If it's registered you can apply for funding," explains Joshi. "It just makes stuff more systematic and organized."

Joshi received her undergraduate degree in environmental science from Fergusson College in her hometown of Pune, India. Pune is located in the state of Maharashtra in western India near Bombay.

Back home in India, Joshi launched an organization called Wild on Wheels (W.O.W.), which provides underprivileged children with an opportunity to connect with the natural world. The idea behind W.O.W. is to do just that: wow these children by taking them out into nature and educating them about the amazing array of wildlife native to India. The organization was an outgrowth of Joshi's desire to improve environmental education. Her motto is "conservation through communication."

While Joshi is passionate about all manner of wildlife, she has a special fondness for reptiles. Her enthusiasm for these underappreciated members of the animal kingdom reaches its peak with gharials, a toothy, long-snouted type of crocodile native to India. Listed as critically endangered, adult gharials can reach up to 20 feet in length. "Even as a kid, I was surprisingly fond of reptiles and didn't think of them as creepy or slimy," she says.

Wild on Wheels is currently on hiatus as Joshi pursues her master's degree. Once her studies are complete here at UM, she plans to return home and focus her energies on getting the organization up and running.