Grady Laxton joined the UT Tree Improvement Program in the fall of 2024. Grady is a freshman in the School of Natural Resources, majoring in Forest Resource Management. Grady has participated in treating eastern hemlock trees infested with the hemlock woolly adelgid in the Big South Fork National Recreation Area prior to joining the Tree Improvement Program. After graduation, he would like to work for the USDA Forest Service managing National Forest land and fighting wildfires.