Living Her Dream Built on a Jessup Foundation

HOLLI PRUHSMEIER

Most people don’t describe their job replete with adventure, and most don’t have the opportunity to fly in a helicopter for work. But alumna Holli Pruhsmeier does. She works for ACRT Pacific, a company that specializes in challenges regarding vegetation management throughout the state of California. There, Pruhsmeier can be found surveying areas of land above the natural gas transmission pipeline or in wetlands below the electric transmission power lines PG&E uses to maintain, inspect and safely operate its power systems.

Pruhsmeier is living her dream, using her expertise to make a difference in her field and help her reach some personal goals. She recently purchased her first home and lives in Arcata, California. She also earned her master’s degree in Natural Resources: Environmental Science and Management from Cal Poly Humboldt, where she is published in their “Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research” for her work with avian bird surveys along the Pacific Crest Trail. She began compiling this data during her undergraduate work at Jessup, alongside Dr. Michael McGrann.

“Jessup’s program exposed me to research, field opportunities and experiential learning that gave me a strong foundation for what I do now,” she said. “I’m able to utilize my knowledge of bird species in my current job, helping to identify and better enable them to flourish in their natural habitats.”

Jessup’s program also helped her become more comfortable spending extended time outdoors. Her inaugural camping experience wasn’t as a kid. Instead, it was on a college field trip with her environmental science classmates, led by Dr. McGrann. It didn’t take long for her to find her niche, eventually accumulating over 300 miles hiking and doing research along the far-reaching terrain of the Pacific Crest Trail