I knew I always loved the outdoors. I always loved meteorology, yet the science classes [I took] had a lot of worksheets. I just wanted to motivate students to enjoy science. My focus was definitely on the outdoors, whether it be weather or geology. I’ve never looked back.

Why do you think it’s worth loading hundreds of students onto buses for multiple weeks? What are the top three benefits of this experience?

First, it’s seeing the students’ reactions when they’re here. I think every year it gets more important...Their favorite parts are always the outdoors and wanting to be out there.

Second, from a teacher perspective, I think the teachers change when they go back [to school], too. I want [the teachers] to change, to see how engaged the kids are here and transfer that back home.

Finally, if you look anywhere, the problems we’re having are environmental. Whether it’s [global] warming or energy or water. But we don’t teach enough environmental science. It still seems that we’re stuck in the old ages of biology, chemistry, and physics; environmental science is just an elective. I think that’s so backwards, because every problem right now is environmental. [Today’s students] are going to have to make some hard choices. Hopefully, [with this trip], we get a few to go the right direction.

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