An Academic Leadership Experience

Envirothon provided an opportunity for my teammates and me to experience the applied science of conservation. The North American Envirothon competition took us out of our native “habitat” to Maryland, Missouri, and Manitoba. We matured as a team, and developed life skills and professional skills throughout. Exposure to conservation professionals from governmental agencies and NGOs at these competitions, who were doing real science outdoors and getting paid to do it, eventually led me to my academic focus and career trajectory.

Envirothon has helped me in many ways in high school life. First, it has helped me conquer my fear of being in front of a crowd and helped me develop my self esteem. Envirothon helped me understand other things in my classes, also gave me a better understanding of TEAMWORK.

My interest in the environment stems from my family. I would go fishing with my brother, father, and grandfather in some of the most pristine areas of Maine, near Mt. Katahdin. If you are ever lucky enough to visit Northern Maine, you would immediately understand why I became interested in environmental science. I am grateful for where I grew up, and I believe everybody should be able to enjoy nature in its purest form.

I think it is easy to see that conservation is a global need. We are at a time when a lot of people can identify the problems of the environment, but we are still definitely in the phase of trying to think up workable solutions and trying to scale those solutions. That is going to be a lot of work.

Having a competition like Envirothon, you can focus your attention on environmental issues and identification in your specific region, not tested on overarching scientific principles like what is common in high school education. It reinforced my interest and showed that this knowledge is applicable and inherently valuable.

Envirothon fills a niche that I think very few other programs do – it has students engage with these environmental topics in a way that is inherently interdisciplinary. It links human actions, topics like farming and climate change, with the environment in a way that is both substantial and also accessible for students.