Dr. Auriel Fornier

With such a long history, we have seen students who were members of this club go on to achieve tremendous success in the field of ornithology. One former student, Dr. Auriel Fornier, is now Director of the Forbes Biological Station in Illinois; the first female director in the station's 130-year history! Here's what she wrote about the impact our Young Birders program had on her life and career. 

Auriel Fornier in the Ohio Young Birders Club

Dr. Auriel Fornier today

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"I grew up in rural Ohio, just outside of Fremont, the daughter of an auto mechanic. By that information alone, my likelihood of graduating college, much less getting into a fully funded PhD program would have been nil. Thanks to the OYBC and the skills that I gained in leadership and ornithology I was able to stand out from the crowd at every turn.

The mentorship and community of the OYBC has been a vital part of my life for nearly two decades. It is a community from which I continue to draw support and encouragement, even as a now 35-year-old with a PhD. The teenage years can be tough for anyone, and finding peers who are also interested in the natural world is difficult. The OYBC provided a vital community to help foster and encourage young people who might have lost interest for lack of like minded friends. I know this community was key for me, it helped me grow my interest, expand it beyond birds and understand the place of birds and birding within the larger world and community.

The people I met through the OYBC, my peers and mentors, helped encourage me to continue with my passion in science, provided me with support and resources to have the confidence to pursue my dreams. The OYBC has been my second family, the one that always understands my passion and excitement for the natural world, even when my biological family did not. It has challenged me and helped me grow and supported me from near and far. BSBO and my OYBC friends helped me through personal loss and celebrated with me through many great triumphs.

The power of this community for young people cannot be stated enough, it empowers young people, inspires the adults who work with them, and helps create a brighter future
for Ohio and our country."