How it all began...

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!

This picture was taken as soon as we arrived in Yosemite after our seven hour drive in 2014.

To read more about the 2014 trip, see my blog post here!