Grad Student Profile: Rebecca Craps

After a decade of teaching elementary and middle school, Rebecca Craps felt called to widen her classroom to the outdoors. Now a Natural Resources and Environmental Systems Agent with N.C. Cooperative Extension in Forsyth County, she’s turned that calling into action through NC State’s Master of Environmental Assessment program. Encouraged by welcoming program leaders, Rebecca bridged missing prerequisites as a Non-Degree Studies student — a leap made while working full time and parenting. The day her Graduate School acceptance arrived, it felt bigger than her undergraduate offer two decades ago. Rebecca says her story is proof that persistence, community, and access open doors. Today, she’s building new expertise to serve North Carolina communities, grateful for the support that helped her officially join the Wolfpack and energized by a lifelong connection to an institution that matches her purpose.

Tell us about your journey to graduate school and what led you to NC State.
After a ten-year career as an elementary and middle school educator, I felt called to pursue a career as an environmental educator.  A position opened with N.C. Cooperative Extension in Forsyth County as a Natural Resources and Environmental Systems Agent, and I was fortunate enough to be selected for that role.  I knew I was interested in pursuing an advanced degree in an environmental field, and as a new employee of N.C. State University, I began researching available programs.  A colleague in another Extension Office told me about her experience with the Master’s of Environmental Assessment program, and it seemed like a great fit.  Program leadership was incredibly welcoming and helpful.  I did not have all of the prerequisites needed, but they were very supportive helping me enroll as a Non-Degree Seeking student to take the courses I needed for admission.  I think I was more excited receiving my acceptance letter from the Graduate School and the Environmental Assessment program than I was when I received my undergraduate acceptance over 20 years ago.

How has your semester been thus far and is graduate school what you expected?
It was a great semester.  I’ve been so impressed with how accommodating professors and program leadership are in my program.  I thoroughly enjoyed the class I took this semester, including the content, the structure of the course itself, and my professor’s industry experience, in addition to his teaching experience.  So far, graduate school has been so much more than I expected it to be.  I have grown tremendously in a short period of time, and it is incredibly rewarding to return to the classroom (even if it is online) and being in an academic setting again.  As an adult going back to school with a fulltime career, it can be easy to just “get things done” in order to move on to the next task, but I appreciate being engaged in meaningful work, conversations, and thinking again.  We’re never too old to continue learning and growing!

What advice do you have for new or current graduate students?
Participating in a distance learning graduate program is not as scary as it seems!  I’ve been both impressed and grateful at how well the Graduate School and my program have made me feel part of the Wolfpack family, even though I’m not learning on campus.  There are student associations and programs designed to include distance learning students, so you feel like you are part of everything that is going on.  It’s been very inclusive in the best way, and I even attended my first Wolfpack football game as a graduate student a couple of weeks ago.

What does being an NC State graduate student mean to you?
It’s incredibly meaningful—perhaps one of the most meaningful experiences of my life.  Knowing I did not have all of the prerequisites, and what a challenge it might be to go back to school while working full-time and parenting, it would have been easy to talk myself out of even pursuing it.  However, knowing what a fantastic school N.C. State is, and seeing how welcoming everyone was that I interacted with early in the admissions process, encouraged me to keep going until I could officially call myself an NC State graduate student.  I am forever grateful to them all as I pursue not only a degree, but a lifelong connection to a fantastic institute of higher education.

How has the Graduate School and/or NC State helped you with your professional development?
As a Natural Resources and Environmental Systems Agent with N.C. Cooperative Extension, the Master’s of Environmental Assessment is a natural fit for me as far as a graduate program goes.  It has already helped me significantly in my role with Extension as it has made me more aware of the state of the environment across North Carolina, especially the state of our water systems, which is a big part of what I work with in my day to day job.  It has also opened me up to conversations and current research that is relevant to natural resource systems, and I’ve made meaningful professional connections with colleagues through my graduate program.

Tell us something interesting about you.
I’ve eaten termites in the rainforest on two continents (North America and South America). Yes, they taste the same 🙂

Learn more about the Environmental Assessment program