Growing up on a cattle farm in southwest Itawamba county, Emily Loden-Jones was always interested in the outdoors.

"I love being in nature and enjoy the natural sciences. That's how I became interested in forestry in the first place," Loden-Jones said.

Although raised by two educators—her father a principal and her mother a special education teacher for 30 years, she never envisioned that she would eventually become the program director of forestry technology at Itawamba Community College (ICC).

After attending ICC in 1996, Loden-Jones transferred to MSU in January of 1998, looking to attend the only accredited forestry school in Mississippi. As a forestry undergraduate student at Mississippi State University, Loden-Jones was an active member of the Mississippi State Forestry Club and the university's chapter of the Society of American Foresters. After finding an interest in forest economics, she began a graduate program focused on the economic impacts of saltwater fishing along the Mississippi Gulf Coast under the direction of Dr. Stephen Grado.

"Obtaining a master's degree from the College of Forest Resources focusing in forest economics is the major catalyst that afforded me the opportunity to teach at Itawamba Community College," said Loden-Jones. "Being responsible for teaching broad forestry subject areas, economics is where all areas come together. Dr. Bullard, Dr. Grebner, and Dr. Munn piqued my interest in this area and Dr. Grado lit the fire. To these individuals I am very grateful."

After finishing her master's in forestry and a short stint working in the college, Loden accepted a position at Weyerhaeuser as a professional development candidate, which focused on exposing new hires to all aspects of forest management within the company. She went on to work for the company as a mid-rotation forester. While she enjoyed the time and experience with the company, a new opportunity was found elsewhere—a teaching position at ICC.

"I didn't know if I would like teaching," Loden-Jones admitted. "However, given my last name's reputation in Itawamba County, there was a good chance I would end up in education anyway."

The opportunity to move and work back home was a big selling point for Loden-Jones in taking the position in 2005. ICC is a two-year program that offers associate of arts and associate of applied science degrees. Loden-Jones began teaching nine different forestry classes dealing with forest technology.

"The relationships I had with my professors at MSU molded me into the educator I am today," Loden-Jones said. "I had to take quite a few pages out of their books on how to stay engaging, relevant, and personable with my students."

Loden-Jones began working hard to create a healthy learning environment for her students, making sure they thrived after graduating as much as they did while they were there.

"About half of my students choose to transfer to Mississippi State," Loden-Jones commented. "We have an articulation agreement with MSU where our students can transfer into all three departments in the College of Forest Resources."

Loden-Jones emphasized her appreciation of being able to "give back" to the ICC community that helped cultivate her own education, by helping students enter the workforce or continue their education elsewhere, like at Mississippi State.

Her job allows her to help students who obtain an Associate of Applied Science in forest technology at ICC find jobs, or pursue more education.

Several of the students who end up with a degree from ICC end up working as forest technicians for forestry commissions in Mississippi and Alabama.

"We also started working with the federal government with two-year degree students specializing in work along the Natchez Trace," said Loden-Jones. "There is also opportunity in private industry, while many students choose to continue on at Mississippi State."

Looking for new opportunities for the foresters in Mississippi is important to Loden-Jones, who values her relationship with MSU's College of Forest Resources.

"We always look for opportunities to work together and expand our relationship with the College of Forest Resources. It's beneficial for my students who transfer to MSU," said Loden-Jones.