So far, life has been good for Bree Hamblin here in the Midwest.

First, the California native turned in a successful softball career at Waldorf University in Iowa. Now, she is enjoying her dream job as the new conservation agent for Montgomery County.

The 24-year-old Hamblin was chosen as the county’s conservation agent after graduating from the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Agent Training Academy in October. She is one of many agents who serve and protect Missouri’s fish, forest and wildlife.

“I love it,” Hamblin said. “I was a little nervous coming from so far away, but I absolutely love it. The people have been amazing. The community aspect of Montgomery County is awesome. They have welcomed me in.”

Hamblin, who graduated with degrees in biology, emergency management and criminal justice at Waldorf, said the best part about her job is working with people who enjoy outdoor life.

“I get to go out and talk to people,” Hamblin said. “They’re usually out doing stuff they love to do like hunting, fishing, walking and going on trail runs. My favorite part is getting to talk to people on a daily basis. Even on the phone, people would call me and I’ll answer them.”

Hamblin has been living in the Midwest for several years after spending most of her life in Modesto, Calif., a city of over 200,000 people that is located 75 miles south of Sacramento and 89 miles east of San Francisco.
Hamblin said after graduating from Big Valley Christian High School in Modesto in 2017, she never planned on being a conservation agent.

“I didn’t know it was a job,” Hamblin said. “I knew there were game wardens out there, but I have never connected the dots of me being able to do it someday. When I went to college, I knew I wanted to do something law enforcement related. I had no idea what it was. I was really interested in FEMA, so I knew I wanted to kind of see what that was like as well.”

Hamblin said she became interested in the conservation field during her final years at Waldorf.

“I added a biology major really fast and I jumped on board,” Hamblin said. “Then, I applied for the Iowa Water Patrol and I did that.”

Hamblin played softball for five years at Waldorf. She earned an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Waldorf is a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics school in Forrest City, Iowa, a town of over 4,000 people that is located two hours south of Minneapolis and two hours north of Des Moines.

“It was quite a change moving from Modesto to Forrest City, from what I thought was a small town in California with 200,000 people to 4,000 people,” Hamblin said.

A catcher, Hamblin was named to the North Star Athletic Association all-conference team, earning first-team honors and received a Gold Glove award in the 2021 season.

Hamblin said once she arrived in Iowa, she immediately embraced the small-town Midwestern atmosphere.

“I didn’t want to go back to California after that,” Hamblin said.

Now, Hamblin is living in a county with over 11,000 people. She said since she was hired as conservation agent, she has been building relationships with community residents.

“When I first got here, I started to go to the bakery (Sugar and Spice Laura’s Delights) and small-town shops,” Hamblin said. “I went to Rugged Root (coffee shop). I try to go to places where I could meet the public and learn names. The one thing for me is I want to be able to remember names. Being able to kind of run into people in the community and get to know people is something that I’m striving for so early in my career right now.”