About Me

Personal Profile

I have two main goals in life, one is to be outside and the other is to have fun. I would, of course, prefer to be able to do both while working.

I have a bachelor's in biology from Sonoma State University. While attending Sonoma State, I volunteered as a naturalist at one of their nature preserves. I led kids around on tours of the preserve. We played nature games, got dirty, and talked about the natural history of the area. This really sparked my interest for being outside and teaching about our world. During my last year, I was able to get a job at a local AZA zoo, Safari West. At Safari West, I led 3-hour tours talking about African animals and birds from around the world. After I finished my classes, I moved to Lake Tahoe for a few months. I was able to get a job I had always dreamed of, being a lift operator at Squaw Valley. My next job took me to Orlando, Florida where I worked for The Walt Disney Company at The Seas With Nemo and Friends. At this AZA facility, I worked as an educator. This entailed talking to people from around the world about animals in the 6 million gallon aquarium. I was also able to lead tours for their Youth Education Series. This job prepared me for another dream job, working as a camp counselor. I worked with SOAR based out of Balsam, North Carolina to led 10-day trips in the Florida Keys. We specialized in bringing outdoor experiences to children with ADD and on the Autism Spectrum.

My next big move took me overseas to Edinburgh, Scotland. I attended the University of Edinburgh and earned my postgraduate diploma in outdoor education. This consisted of learning hard skills such as hillwalking, kayaking, canoeing, climbing, and winter hill skills; we also learned soft skills such as managing group dynamics, interpreting the landscape, and curriculum writing. As part of the program, we spent 16 days tent camping throughout the UK.

My education helped me get a job another job at Disney; this time as part of Disney's Hospitality Leadership Program as an education manager. Part of the program allowed me to take over 100 hours of leadership classes. During these classes, we covered topics from building rapport with your direct reports, budgeting, and networking. After my program ended, I moved to St. Louis, Missouri for my current job. I started working as an education manager and summer camp director with Parkway-Rockwood Community Education based out of Babler State Park. During the summer, I ran a nature-based day camp for 50 kids. I planned, hired, shopped, training, wrote curriculum, and oversaw the camp. After summer, I had the opportunity to work in a new role. I am currently planning summer 2021 with the plan to oversee 25 sites and over 3,000 children throughout our districts and state park. This entails hiring, training, writing curriculum, and managing site supervisors. To pull off a successful summer I will have to partner with many departments within the schools and at Community Education.

While my resume and job experience is diverse, the most important lesson learned is building relationships. This management skill can be applied to any field as long as you have the ability to form connections.

I am interested in working in a variety of fields. I am looking for jobs that I can engage with other people and help develop staff. To feel fulfilled, I want to be able to use my leadership skills and connect with people.