For three years prior to this past January, I founded and ran a homeschool nature group, called Wild + Free Mercer County (Wild + Free Mercer County), which involved planning and executing hikes, programs, events, and enrollment. This group revolved around Environmental Education, which began my path to making this my career. Currently, I am enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University as an online student and will be finished with my bachelors of Environmental Science by next summer. Along with that, I am enrolled into the non-formal environmental education certification program through PAEE. I attended my first conference in the Poconos last March, am taking online training courses they offer to put towards the certification, follow the advice and education from my mentor for the certification program, and network with the northwest Pennsylvania members through local events.

I am also going on my second-year volunteering on the education team for the Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitation Center by doing education programs and events with the outreach and education manager. This requires training to handle their ambassador animals and knowledge on their natural history.

Along with my volunteer work, schooling, job, and home life, I do community outreach by organizing roadside cleanups in area, public demonstrations for Monarch butterfly conservation purposes, tend the school's garden along, and preserve the harvest until school begins where I will then educate the students on these subjects.

I currently work at a private Christian school in Mercer, Pennsylvania, called the Creative Learning Christian School, as their Environmental Educator. My daily schedule consists of teaching Environmental Education to preschool through eighth grades in a suburban environment. My goal is to teach these students to love nature through interactive educational experiences so that they become future stewards to the environment. By turning a small patch of woods an Adventureland, the students can get a better understanding of the world around them, the seasonal changes, develop problem solving skills in group activities, and so much more. It is Environmental Education that creates a fun but relaxing way to learn all the different subjects that can be found in the classroom. The stream that we study is full of life which lures the children back again and again, which has led them to want to preserve it. We use this stream to teach about local wildlife, weather patterns, watersheds, pollution, STEM, and problem solving. I also collaborate with other local Environmental educators, including but not limited to PA DCNR, our Mercer County Conservation District, and Allegheny College’s Creek Connections, to schedule on-site programming to enhance the students understanding of the areas they explore during class. These partnerships show the students possible career paths and provide networking opportunities that they would otherwise not have access to within a regular public-school setting. I have also created an indoor nature space that is not only used for therapy purposes but also for our Environmental Education class when necessary. This classroom provides a way for every student to see what nature can provide to us not just visually but also mentally. Environmental Education is an extension of my true self, my home, and my family.