Hi! My name is Stella Jaunich, and I am a recent graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder, where I earned a BA in Environmental Studies and Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies. In my time as a student, I filled my summers with adventure and experience, from backpacking 150 miles in Switzerland, to leading for the same company in Maine, to abroad semesters in Australia and Hawaii, studying coral reef and oceanography research and conservation. 

My most impactful experience in environmental education has been my experience working for Overland Summers, https://overlandsummers.com/. The Overland Summers is a summer adventure camp for 4th through 12th graders who are interested in living in a tent for 1-3 weeks, away from technology, family, comfortable friendships, and the pleasures of a typical everyday life. Here they learn leadership skills, how to make new lasting friendships, how to take care of themselves, and how to love the natural world all around them. By providing a safe space to learn, students release the societal norms and step into individuality, supported by positive experiences. The programs encourage students to fully immerse themselves in a small group, where they learn to camp, as well as other activities like hike, backpack, bike, rock climb, kayak, trail work, community service, and so much more, to be better leaders, more independent, make lifelong connections, and grow a passion for nature. 

A story I can share comes from my first summer leading. Dylan came on my trip because his school sponsored him. Dylan was a young black boy in a group full of white kids (there are other POC students, but rarely black). Although all the other kids were more than nice to him, he struggled to feel like he fit in. We bonded, because he felt like he could talk to me about anything, which was different for him (he told me that he kept to himself around most of his other teachers and peers who might not fully understand him) but with me, he didnt feel like I was trying to understand his own expirence in life, but just listen and be a good friend. At the end of our time together, Dylan thanked me for allowing him to find comfort in a community that he used to be reserved in. He told me that he felt seen from the inside, and not by the color of his skin. Being a white girl, from a very white community, I was overjoyed to have made such an impact on him, not only helping develop his love for nature (he started as a very slow hiker and grew to be on of the strongest in the group) but also in helping him develop confidence in who he truely was, not by the things the defined him on the outside. This feeling of comfort, in people and in nature, I hope will stick with Dylan for the rest of his life, that he will be driven to encourage other minorities to find their comfort too. I wish this could be the case for more kids; everyone deserves this opportunity. 

Overland isn't like other typical summer camps; they stand out in their direct integration with nature, not by making the students feel like they are learning, but by just giving them the experience to have fun and make memories in and around nature, which allows for the experiences to stick positively with them, and subconsciously increase their environmental concern. Working for a company like this inspired me to search for a career doing something similar. Where can I provide experiences, love, and curiosity to the younger generations, and help them find inspiration to make a change in the world, big or small.