Clara Freese was recognized as a Chancellor’s Scholar during the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s undergraduate commencement ceremonies May 9 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. She earned a Bachelor of Science in fisheries and wildlife with high distinction, and a Bachelor of Science in grassland systems with high distinction.
Chancellor’s Scholars are students who have maintained 4.0 grade-point averages on all collegiate work at Nebraska and elsewhere.
A passion for prairies takes root at Nebraska
When she first arrived at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Freese planned to study wildlife and be a part of the Cornhusker Marching Band.
A lifelong “band kid,” she said participation in marching band heavily influenced her college decision. She only considered universities with marching bands and ultimately chose Nebraska over Iowa State, seeking both a strong natural resources program and a chance for independence farther from home.
Clara Freese plays the sousaphone in the Cornhusker Marching Band.
Growing up in Ankeny, Iowa, she had loved animals for as long as she could remember. Family stories trace that fascination back to when she was 2 years old, spending countless summer days at the Milwaukee County Zoo with her mother during her father’s internship in the city.
“I’ve loved animals since before I can remember,” Freese said. “No one else in my family is really into wildlife or animals, so I think that’s where it started.”
That lifelong interest led her to Nebraska, where she enrolled as a fisheries and wildlife major in the School of Natural Resources, and her college journey expanded from there.
Now having graduated with double majors in fisheries and wildlife and grassland systems, she has discovered a passion for prairies, rangelands and conservation work that she hopes will shape her future career.
Her path into grassland systems started with a class recommendation from her academic adviser, Sara Winn, a student success specialist in natural resources. Looking for a challenge, Winn encouraged her to enroll in Cheryl Dunn’s Plant and Landscape Systems 442 Wildland Plants course during her sophomore year.
Instead of finding the class difficult, she found herself captivated.
“I just thought it was super, super fun,” Freese said.
Dunn, lecturer and herbarium curator in agronomy and horticulture, later encouraged her to add a grassland systems major, noting it would broaden her career opportunities. Initially, that practical advice — along with scholarship opportunities — convinced her to add the major.
Hands-on experience cemented her interest.
Working as a research technician in the summer for Nebraska’s Nic McMillan, assistant professor in agronomy and horticulture, opened her eyes to the ecological importance and beauty of prairie landscapes.
“I realized that prairies are just so underappreciated,” she said. “They’re such a beautiful landscape that I want to make people care about them more.”
Clara Freese records vegetation cover classes in a Daubenmire frame at the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma. The Daubenmire cover class method is accepted as a relatively accurate and used extensively to determine cover in rangeland situations.
Last summer, she traveled to the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma and the Barta Brothers Ranch in Nebraska, collecting vegetation data alongside Aisha Sams, a research technician in agronomy and horticulture. The work was physically demanding, involving long days outdoors and extensive field sampling, but it confirmed she had found the right field.
“It was objectively super hard, grueling work,” Freese said. “But I had a blast. I learned so much about plants, and it felt very much like, ‘Yes, this is what I want to do with my life.’”
One of her favorite wildlife memories came this spring during a School of Natural Resources field trip — Sandhill Cranes and Prairie Chickens. While traveling from the Crane Trust to a ranch near Burwell, Nebraska, she spotted several large white birds in a field.
The group stopped to investigate and discovered five whooping cranes — one of North America’s rarest bird species.
“Most of us had never seen whooping cranes before,” she said. “We were like, ‘That’s 1% of the whole population right there.’”
Husker Range Management Club members and coaches (back row, from left) are Nic McMillan, Joseph Barenberg, Sam Morrow, Aisha Sams, Sheridan Wilson (front row, from left), Cassidy Maricle, Bobbi Guggenmos, Clara Freese and Abby Hirschman. Freese secured third place individually and the team was runner-up in the Undergraduate Range Management Exam and third in the Rangeland Cup at the Society for Range Management’s annual meeting Feb. 10, 2025, in Spokane, Washington.
Beyond academics, Freese immersed herself in campus involvement. After four years in the marching band, she became a tuba rank leader and also participated in concert band. She joined the Range Management Club, serving first as treasurer and later as president.
Through the club, she traveled to Spokane, Washington, and Monterey, California, for the annual Society for Range Management meetings. She also competed in several collegiate contests, earning third place individually in the Undergraduate Range Management Exam and helping the team earn runner-up honors in 2025. She also competed in plant identification contests and the Rangeland Cup.
Freese will continue her conservation work as a Lila O. Wilson Biological Monitoring Fellow at the Crane Trust near Wood River, Nebraska. During the 11-month fellowship, she will assist with long-term data collection projects, contribute to public outreach during crane migration season and potentially pursue research involving the organization’s bison herd.
Long term, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in rangeland science and hopes to build a career in land management, research or conservation education.
Whether that path eventually leads to a university faculty position, a nonprofit organization or a state agency, her goal remains rooted in the same prairie landscapes that unexpectedly captured her attention.
