I have always been interested in learning. As a child, I devoured books on all topics; the biology and behavior of animals, ancient mythology (an interest that originally stemmed from my parents introducing me to Percy Jackson), murder mysteries, I even filled out puzzle books from Mensa. My mother is a history teacher, and took me to as many museums as she could. We visited Revolutionary and Civil War reenactment sites all over the East Coast, and I attended camps at local historical villages, or nature camps in the woods. As I got older, I went to art camps while my brother attended Nerf Gun Camp in the same park. We painted "en plein air", or outside, and practiced using all sorts of different materials to capture the landscape. My brother got Nerf bullets shot at him. When I was considering what college to go to, I was faced with a tough dilemma. I had been drawing for a long time, and really enjoyed what I had learned in classes and camps so far. But I loved my science classes. I had just taken AP Environmental Science, which is STILL my favorite high school class. We had spent a whole year learning about the environment and I knew that there was still so much to learn. There were hints of a deeper more intricate pool of information to learn no matter what topic I looked at. If I chose an art school, would I spend forever wishing I could go back and change my mind? I debated with myself for a while. I picked the brain of my AP Environmental Science teacher to figure out if it was worth it. He recommended looking into two schools: SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, both in New York. I pulled up the list of majors for SUNY ESF and saw Landscape Architecture and decided right then and there that it was a good enough mix of art and science for me Now, I'm a rising senior at SUNY ESF. I didn't stick with Landscape Architecture, but I still use my art background in other ways. The classes that I've taken have been nothing but amazing, and I learn more every day. One class in particular has motivated me to begin searching for a graduate school: Ornithology. Birds have always fascinated me. Now that I know a lot of the science behind them, I'm even more interested! There are thousands of job opportunities, and now the hard part of searching for a school is choosing just one to focus on. I'm faced with another difficult choice, but I know that no matter what I choose, I'll be happy learning it!

I visited my first 'gay event' when I was 16. My friend and I went to a youth retreat for LGBTQ+ teens held a few towns over from where our high school was. The area I grew up in was very conservative, and outside of the few people in the GSA -- of 10, I was friends with only 1 -- there were no visibly queer students. Going to this was life-changing. I experienced a sense of community that I had never felt before. I met people who I would be friends with for years to come. My friend and I got to hang out with people who were like us for the first time in our lives. We attended workshops held by older queer people, about queer topics. There was an open mic, where teens could read poetry or sing songs or do whatever they wanted. We had a drag show one night, which was amazing and high energy and so fun! Now that I'm older, I still think fondly of this first experience with the LGBTQ+ community. I've met a lot of queer people in my college, but nothing will ever compare it. The adults who ran the event clearly cared so much about making it a fun experience for all of us. They are part of the reason why I am considering education as a career. Being able to show kids that they could be happy and thriving as adults, even when they think it's impossible to go on is a dream for me. I know that if I had a queer teacher as a student, I would have been ecstatic to see someone like me working in an 'adult' job. Even one kid being inspired by me would be enough for me to feel like I've given back to the queer community. To make that dream a reality, I've taken a few steps in my college career. I am studying to get a degree in Environmental Biology, with an unofficial focus on environmental education (and a minor in a sustainability program). I have taken many classes focusing on education and interpretation, and have worked with kids in the past. I've worked as a camp counselor a lot, and enjoyed the seasonal version of 'educator', so I believe I would do well as a teacher or science naturalist. I would love to work with kids as a full-time career, and if I won this scholarship I could consider going to grad school to pursue an education degree. I believe that queer teens benefit from seeing representation in their day-to-day lives, and as a potential future educator, I think I can make that happen.

I'm sure you've heard of Howl's Moving Castle -- after all, it's a classic Studio Ghibli movie and even if you aren't a fan of 'anime' movies, there's a high chance you've seen stills from it somewhere on the internet. Few people know that it was based off a book of the same title by Dianna Wynne Jones. The movie and book tell similar stories, but I am a big fan of how the book tells it. If you're unfamiliar with the movie, here is the basic plot. A young woman named Sophie who works at a hat shop gets cursed by the Witch of the Waste and is turned into an old woman for her rudeness. She seeks out someone who can break her curse, and ends up on the doorstep of a giant moving castle, which is beautifully animated and contains many secrets and interesting people who live there. Sophie makes a deal with a fire demon (Calcifer): if she can break his and the Wizard Howl's curse, he'll break hers. Sophie pretends to be a cleaning lady and works at breaking Howl's curse. They fall in love, they kiss, the end, right? Wrong! The book goes into much more detail (on account of it not being locked into a time frame of 108 minutes) on magic, the characters' backgrounds, and Howl and Sophie's slow-burn enemies to lovers arc. Howl's Moving Castle (and the two other books in the series) was my re-introduction to reading fantasy as an adult, and will always be my first recommendation for a good read.

When I was 16, I took AP Environmental Science with my favorite teacher, Mr. Williams. I took his class in Earth Science in 9th grade and was excited to have him as a teacher again. His class was by far my favorite. Mr. Williams ended up being the reason I applied to college at SUNY ESF, and his great teaching style made me want to follow in his footsteps. During the summer of my high school years, I volunteered as a counselor in training at the place where I now work, the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum. I helped the main counselor teach children how to appreciate nature and learn about science. I've always liked kids, and I believe that I would be a great fit for a science teacher. 5 years later, as the main counselor, it's a lot more work. Even so, I always felt fulfilled after a long day of camp. I plan to work as a counselor again next summer. Getting to be out in nature was a great way to spend my summer. Although I am not sure exactly what I would like to do when I graduate, I know that if I'm teaching, I'm bound to be happy. I'll be able to make kids feel good about science, just like my teacher helped me! I hope that even if I don't end up as a science teacher, I'll be able to make a difference in the world of science. The amount that we still don't know is shocking, but it excites me that I'll be able to learn more.