BOXERWOOD RISING: Meet Nikki Carroll, Forestry Student

Throughout our 25th year, we’ve shared stories of young people whose Boxerwood experiences shaped their passions and vocations. This is the last in our series for now, and how fitting that it ends with a recent graduate for this month's theme of culminations.

This time last year, 2026 Parry McCluer High School graduate Nikki Carroll expected she’d be preparing for cosmetology school. As a self-described “girly girl” – and recently crowned prom queen – cosmetology always made sense to Nikki. It wasn’t until her internship with the Tree Team last summer – a Boxerwood-led initiative for Buena Vista teens – that she started imagining herself going down an entirely different path.

“When I tell people that I’m going to Mountain Gateway to take forestry classes, they kind of look at me, and they’re like, ‘Really?’” Nikki said, laughing. She knows she might not present the stereotype of a forestry student that others have in their minds: “People have been super surprised.” 

The transformation, she said, came from a variety of experiences during her three weeks as a 2025 Tree Team intern: “Being outside, learning about trees, the type of trees that we have in Buena Vista, working on the tree nursery.” The nursery work in particular could be grueling, and included weeding, laying and securing landscape fabric, mulching, and watering. “Those long hours outside were very hot,” Nikki recalled, “but I think, after doing it with a group of people, and us all laughing together, it just made me want to be outside more, and learn more about the trees that we have, our ecosystem, how I can help our ecosystem more.”

Nikki said that her favorite part of the internship was creating an inventory of trees in downtown Buena Vista. Interns learned how to identify local species and assessed each tree’s benefits to the City, like shade and habitat, along with potential hazards like buckling sidewalks or fragile limbs. “That was really nice, and just seeing all of the different trees that we have,” Nikki said, adding, “until you step out of that car, you don’t really know how the trees in Buena Vista were doing.” She reflected, “I didn’t know anything about trees until we opened up the tree book...That was super fun.” 

She added that the Tree Team “also opened up the idea of actually going into a career of it.” She specifically mentioned Scott Reigel, Forestry Program Head at Mountain Gateway, and how meaningful it was to hear him “talking about the classes and just hearing how passionate he was about it.” As part of the Boxerwood program, Nikki also found it inspiring to speak with certified arborists and U.S. Forest Service rangers. “It felt so wonderful talking to all of them there,” she recalled. “The smiles on their faces really showed that they really enjoy what they do, and they’re excited to see what new things could happen…Hearing how much they really like their career and the outdoors really opened up my eyes.” 

When she began considering forestry, she thought, “this could be something different, and this could make me go to community college, which I would be the first one in my family to do. It was just nice to find maybe something bigger – actually push myself to do something bigger instead of something small.” 

Nikki will start with a two-year program at Mountain Gateway, which includes forestry classes, one of which includes a summer section. After that, “if I’m open to it, like if I really do enjoy it, I’m willing to go back and do more schooling.” Nikki said she’s excited for Mountain Gateway’s small classes, and she’s especially “excited to learn more about trees. I’m also really interested in water quality.”

While the Tree Team has had a strong influence on Nikki, her relationship with Boxerwood dates back to childhood. “Always going to Boxerwood as a little kid, it’s funny to see where I’m at now,” she reflected. “I look back and I’m like, it makes sense, because I really did enjoy talking to Boxerwood people, and getting to experience that field trip every year.” Nikki remembers these Boxerwood excursions as “very exciting – I was excited to go on the trip, especially getting out of school. The first time I went I was a little nervous, because I was like ‘What are we gonna do?’ But it was fun. Just being outside and being able to learn about different things, like trees and insects. I felt like a little scientist, honestly.” She went on, “I’m so glad that Boxerwood still does what they do with little kids. Just getting them outside and learning about things that are near us outside, and our ecosystem.”

These days, Nikki’s newfound environmental passion is even starting to rub off on her friends. When her graduating class was planning their senior trip this spring, several students wanted to go to a local trampoline park, but “a lot of kids didn’t have the money, or couldn’t get the money from their parents,” Nikki explained. So she came up with a plan that wasn’t only different, but entirely free. “I was like, ‘How would we feel about just going on a little hike?’” she recalled. “We went to St. Mary’s trail, and I told them it’s a long walk, but it’s super worth it, seeing the waterfall at the end of it. So we all decided to go.” Not every member of her class attended, but she said the trip was meaningful for those who did. “I never thought that my friends would be down for doing stuff like that,” she said, “but it was nice to see that they’re also open to do stuff outside, instead of going indoors.” When asked whether a hike is something she ever would have proposed before her experience with the Tree Team, she immediately responded: “100% not. No. Not at all.”

Looking back, Nikki reflected, “I’m just super glad that I did the internship with the Tree Team. I’m glad that we had a program like that within our school, and I think other kids should really have an open mind to go down this type of path.” 

Even recalling the hot days and hard work in the tree nursery, Nikki said, “I’m just really grateful for experiencing all that, because it got me where I am now.”