This was me as a youngster! |
My passion for nature began as a little girl when I first experienced what it was like to be curious in nature and to learn from my surroundings. I was and still am the kind of person that will disappear into the mountains and never return if I'm given the opportunity. As a result, I developed a passion for exploring outside at a young age and found places like Yosemite to be the perfect place for me to express myself and learn!
Growing up I struggled in the classroom setting. I was shy, but at the same full of energy and struggled paying attention or sitting still for long periods of time. Outside is always where I excelled. I was able to absorb information and learn with all of my senses.
Looking back on my childhood days now, I know that I was not, and even now, am not the only one who struggles in the traditional classroom setting. As a result, I took it upon myself to make sure that more students have the opportunity to experience different forms of learning.
In high school, I started working with a program called NatureBridge that hosts schools and groups in National and State Parks all over the United States. Every Memorial Day weekend I coordinate a trip for what used to be my classmates, but now that I've graduated I get to call them high school
students :). As just a high school student myself, I did all of the recruiting, planned all of the fundraisers, made the phone calls, did the paperwork, organized transportation and wrote sponsorship letters. Now that I'm a college student, this year I did all of that on top of school work and my job. If you're a teacher reading this...you can do it to! The reward for all of the hard work is so sweet!
Just look at how happy these students are!
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This picture was taken as soon as we arrived in Yosemite after our seven hour drive in 2014. |
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