Pronouns: he/him

Graduation year: 2020

Hometown: Bellevue, WA

Currently living in: Denver, CO

Current occupation: Director of Education at the Catamount Center for Environmental Science and Education.

What was your experience at CC like as an Education minor?

I absolutely loved having the opportunity to minor in Education at CC. I was lucky enough to do the TREE semester the Fall of my sophomore year which exposed me to incredible, transformational, educational opportunities that opened me up to the world of teaching and helped me realize that’s what I wanted to pursue with my life and career. When I returned I found I had a passion for history through taking a few wonderful introductory blocks which translated perfectly to my new desire to pursue education. Across the board, every professor I had in both the history and education department had a significant impact on me personally and professionally that helped me get to where I am today.

Why were you interested in focusing on Education at CC?

I really enjoyed the ability to develop my own curriculum and build relationships with real students as an undergraduate during my time at the TREE semester. That experience helped me to then come back to CC and figure out what I wanted to teach, how, when, and why. The Education department at CC really emphasizes giving undergraduates opportunities to teach in real life situations with real students – putting relationship building and the development of individual pedagogies first. That was something I really appreciated which helped influence my decision to focus on Education at CC.

How are you using your major in your post-CC life?

As the Education Director at the Catamount Center, I work to develop, revise, and teach various environmental education curriculum to elementary, high school, and undergraduate students. Additionally, I assist in the development of undergraduate curriculum that they teach as part of their own work at the TREE semester with elementary and high school students. I use my history major and education minor every day of my life in both my job and personal life. History is just such a powerful interdisciplinary subject that can tie together so many different parts of everyday life and education is an outlet to express that. I do my best to bring my major and minor from CC into all facets of the work we do at the center as I see education, the environment, and history as very intertwined. The more that can be done to make connections between the past, present, and future through powerful environmental educational opportunities, the better chance for true stewardship to both exist and flourish.