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Meet Our Interns: Part 2


Ethan (Goose)

Where are you from/where do you call home?
I grew up in Connecticut and my family lives there, but I identify more with the state of Maine, which is where I attended college.

What did you study in college?
Ecology.

What in your childhood pointed to this as your job?
Beachwalk’s, Bug hunts, and Backpacking.

What is your favorite class to teach at Sierra Outdoor School?
Silent Mile.

Why are you excited to be here at SOS?
The Sierra Nevada mountains are incredible, you can ski, backpack, and rock climb, also unsolicited facts about plants/animals/fungi from the people I live and work with.

Favorite smell?
Snow.

What animal best represents your personality and why?
Common Racoon, they are resourceful, clever, will eat just about anything, and can live and survive just about anywhere. They are great at upcycling things people throw out, like me.


Sarah Newcomb (Shale)

Where are you from/where do you call home?
I am originally from Northeast Ohio so while I may move around more frequently nowadays, I will always consider that area to be home.

What did you study in college?
I studied Environmental Geology and Evolutionary Biology at Case Western Reserve University.

What in your childhood pointed to this as your job?
Whenever my family went on camping trips I loved exploring the outdoors and hunting for all sorts of little critters. My favorite of which were caterpillars, which I would frequently cry when leaving them. This love exploration and creatures big and small.

What is your favorite class to teach at Sierra Outdoor School?
Having studied geology in college I love teaching Earth and Beyond. I think firsthand exploration of the rocks and landforms found here at SOS is the best way to get kids excited about geology!

Why are you excited to be here at SOS?
I am so excited for the opportunity to combine my passions by teaching students about how important environmental science and stewardship are, and for the opportunity to be able to do it in such a beautiful setting.

Favorite movie to watch while you are sick?
Definitely Mulan. Watching her be super hardcore always helps me feel just a little bit better.

Where is a place you have never been, but are excited to one day visit?
I am hoping to visit Southwest Utah very soon. The desert landscapes I’ve seen in pictures of Moab, Canyonlands, and Zion, to just name a few, are so different from other environments I have lived in and would love to explore such incredible landscapes!

Caroline (Dragonfly)

Where are you from/where do you call home?

Ann Arbor, Michigan!

What did you study in college?
Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Environment

What in your childhood pointed to this as your job?
I grew up near a forest with a bog in the middle and spent much of my free time catching frogs, climbing trees, watching water striders, and covering myself with mud.

What is your favorite class to teach at Sierra Outdoor School?
Probably Silent Mile, because it provides a general background of ecology as well as a deeper appreciation for the outdoors. I love watching students who were worried about walking quietly through the woods alone finish it grinning.

Why are you excited to be here at SOS?
I get to spend every day outside helping kids appreciate nature! Teaching on trail at SOS allows me to make learning fun, encourage discovery, and tell corny jokes that they sometimes think are funny!
I go home feeling like I've made at least one person's life better and hopefully provided an experience that makes students (and chaperones) feel more excited about science and connected to the outdoors.

If I were to show up at your door with an ostrich what would you do?
I would probably offer you both some watermelon and ask if you'd like to join me in my kiddie pool. We'd probably play Beach Boys songs on the ukulele while waiting for the ostrich to change into her water wings, which must be quite large given her 6-foot wingspan. She'd finally join us until perhaps she saw, far off in the distance, an ice cream truck. It would hypothetically be so far away we couldn't hear its music but ostriches have the largest eyeballs of any land animal so she could see it long before we humans could. Chances are she loves the Spongebob-shaped popsicles and chances are she would take off running toward that ice cream truck to get one at a whopping 40 miles per hour, almost twice the speed of the fastest human. She's probably return with the popsicle, maybe some to share if she were a generous ostrich, and then probably we would settle in to my kiddie pool again and eat popsicles together until you two had to go home.

If any liquid could come out of your fingertips, what would it be?
Mango juice.

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