Feature Story
Preparing to Protect Wildlife Species at Southern Virginia University
Chase Pope (‘25) is a big fan of wildlife diversity, and the desire to protect wildlife from a current mass extinction of animals has led him to study biology, which will prepare him for his desired career in wildlife conservation.
“I think it’s super important to not only learn about animals, but learn how they adapt and work with other species,” said Pope. “It’s important to understand how all those elements come together and how humans can get involved in preserving the habitats that they live in, so we can maintain those species.”
Pope gained valuable field experience in an ecology field study class taught by Associate Professor of Biology Samuel Hirt, where his group investigated whitetail deer preferences for fresh blackberries versus blackberry-flavored fruit snacks. Using game cameras at five baited sites—swapping the bait after two weeks—they monitored daily consumption and analyzed the nutritional content of each option. Their findings suggested that the deer were drawn to the sugar rush of the fruit snacks, with one site attracting over 100 deer.
“We wanted to see their attraction levels to fresh blackberries versus the fruit snacks because blackberry bushes grow all around the state of Virginia, and deer have been seen eating those as part of their diet,” explained Pope. “Here’s the craziest part: there was more deer activity, and they ate more of the fruit snacks than the fresh blackberries.”
“We wrote a research paper on it and analyzed the data,” continued Pope. “I got some field work experience from doing that study, and I was able to put it on my resume too.”
Another of Pope’s favorite classes was an evolution course taught by Associate Professor of Biology Jared Lee, who also served as a bishop for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Buena Vista YSA Stake. Pope enjoyed how Lee addressed the topic using both science and faith, and found the class to be a culmination of his learning in the scientific world.
Already planning to study biology when he began looking into undergraduate schools, Pope decided to attend Southern Virginia University due to the warm and welcoming community he found on campus and the opportunity to play football all four years.
“I built a great relationship with the football staff; they were just really caring and truly wanted me to be here,” Pope said. “But aside from the education and athletic aspect, the community of Southern Virginia was very appealing because everyone was super nice and they were all approachable. That was really meaningful to me.”
A native of Virginia, Pope is also a member of the environmental science club and is currently applying for jobs to begin his career with the dream of working in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.