VIRGINIA
TECH FORESTRY STUDENT
WINS SYMPHONY COMPETITION
BLACKSBURG, Dec. 2,
2003 -- Ransom Hughes
of North Garden, Va.,
a freshman majoring
in forestry at Virginia
Tech's College of
Natural Resources,
recently won the Richmond
Symphony Concerto
Competition. Hughes
studies music under
cellist Alan Weinstein
at Virginia Tech.
The
Richmond Symphony
Orchestra Leagues
holds yearly concerto
competitions that
consist of a piano
division and an instrumental
division. First and
second place winners
are selected for each
division and while
most competitors come
from central Virginia,
any student in Virginia
is eligible. The winner
receives an opportunity
to perform with the
Richmond Symphony.
Hughes
succeeds not only
in the world of music,
but academics as well.
As a forestry student
he has started and
maintains his own
nursery of trees.
He has collected seeds
of numerous deciduous
and coniferous trees
from across the United
States and currently
has around six hundred
saplings of over 60
varieties in his backyard
nursery. His project
has included experimentation
with various soil
compositions for the
purpose of maintaining
healthy and vigorous
saplings, as well
as building his own
fence to protect the
seedlings from deer
and other animals.
The
College of Natural
Resources at Virginia
Tech consistently
ranks among the top
five programs of its
kind in the nation.
Faculty members stress
both the technical
and human elements
of natural resources
and instill in students
a sense of stewardship
and land-use ethics.
Areas of studies include
environmental resource
management, fisheries
and wildlife sciences,
forestry, geospatial
and environmental
analysis, natural
resource recreation,
urban forestry, wood
science and forest
products, geography,
and international
development.
Founded
in 1872 as a land-grant
college, Virginia
Tech has grown to
become the largest
university in the
Commonwealth of Virginia.
Today, Virginia Tech's
eight colleges are
dedicated to putting
knowledge to work
through teaching,
research, and outreach
activities and to
fulfilling its vision
to be among the top
30 research universities
in the nation. At
its 2,600-acre main
campus located in
Blacksburg and other
campus centers in
Northern Virginia,
Southwest Virginia,
Hampton Roads, Richmond,
and Roanoke, Virginia
Tech enrolls more
than 28,000 full-
and part-time undergraduate
and graduate students
from all 50 states
and more than 100
countries in 170 academic
degree programs.
