1. I consider myself in an underrepresented population of people who are actively working in the outdoors in education and conservation because I am a woman. For the last 5 years, I have been working in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States, and have come across too many situations where my voice, thoughts, opinions, experience and skills have been overlooked by my male counterparts and superiors. My most common experience in working in the outdoors is the under-representation of women, LBGTQ+, and People of Color in positions of employment and leadership in places where all voices should be amplified. With this awareness, I want to be able to give back and drive forward the ability to diversify the outdoors. It is my goal to be able to educate, facilitate, and empower people of all colors, races, orientations to be able to feel confident, educated, and passionate about the outdoors, wild places, and why it is so important to want to take care of the planet and our environments. I feel so strongly about this because with white, cis men being the primary demographic in so many vital places where discussions are happening and decisions are being made about our environmental futures, it is extremely necessary to ensure that a variety of viewpoints are being presented to be able to better and more accurately serve the communities and people in this country. 2. The main barrier that I view for myself being able to fulfill my goals of becoming a voice in a male dominated industry is the ability to be able to pay for the remaining classes that I need to graduate with my Bachelor's degree, and being able to afford to go on to complete my Master in Experiential Outdoor Education. I am currently almost 30 years old, working 2 jobs while also going to school part time, but next year I plan on focusing completely on school to finally finish my Bachelor's in December 2022. My focus right now is to be saving as much money as I can until early January when I will begin being a full time student. Any scholarships that I am awarded will be of much help, and will ultimately allow me to be able to forge forward in my own personal mission of spreading environmental awareness and ethics. 3. I have always loved the outdoors, but while I was working in Alaska in 2019, I was inspired to pursue a career in conservation after what I was experiencing first hand there; extreme heat, droughts, glaciers melting at alarming rates, fish populations diminishing which was driving out marine life like whales, orcas, sea otters and many species of fish. Salmon couldn't run up the streams to spawn because of the lack of rain, and the warming of the seas was killing off microscopic organisms that are the base of the food chain. I felt compelled to continue to learn and educate people about why caring about the environment and the climate is incredibly important, because if we do not begin taking care of our planet and start making changes to the way we live, we are going to begin seeing the consequences of our careless actions. 4. I am hoping to continue to work in the outdoors the rest of my life, but I am more so hoping for the ability to be able to educate, uplift and empower minority groups in the places where important decisions to our environment are being made. By being able to be an educator and facilitate outdoor experiences for people who may not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in those experiences, I will also be achieving my dream of amplifying and uplifting minority voices on important topics. I believe that we all should be taking an active role in important decision making of our environments, but I also understand that not all people may have the ability or the resources to be able speak their truth. I want to be that bridge for people, and to be of service for folks who may need more information or experience to be able to feel more confident in the ways they speak and express their ideas and opinions. It is my dream to be able to be an asset and an ally to those who may need it, but most of all, I want to be an advocate for the outdoors and why we all should be concerned for our futures living on this planet.

In July and August of 2019 when I was working as a Naturalist on whale watching tours in Alaska, I saw and experienced first hand the direct impacts of global climate change: The Chilkat mountains, that are found in SouthEastern Alaska, were seen without snow on their peaks for the first time in the living history of the people of Juneau. Streams, rivers and creeks were dry, preventing the salmon from being able to travel upstream to spawn, and SouthEastern Alaska was experiencing a critical drought. Temperatures reached over 80 degrees for days on end, the Mendenhall Glacier was melting at about two feet per day, and Tongas National Forest was measuring 80" less rain than the yearly average up to that point. Seeing these 'bigger picture' tragedies made me wonder what was happening on all levels of the food chain, so I began to do some research- the algae blooms that happen in the spring each year are the basis of life in those seas. The algae feeds the krill, which feeds the fish, sea otters, seals, humpback whales, and many other creatures. The fish, sea otters and seals feed the Orcas, the Salmon Sharks, Grizzly and Black Bears. With the heat and the warming seas, it kills vital nutrients in the water that sustain so many life forms in those ecosystems. The warming water also kills the krill and fish, which drives out marine life because of the scarcity of food. After connecting many dots in my own awareness and alarmed, I realized why it is important to not only share these beautiful, wild spaces with others, but also how important it is for people to realize that it is all connected, and everyone should care about these global issues before it is too late for all of us. I am currently studying Parks and Rec. Management, with an emphasis on Education and Conservation. I have been working within National Parks and National Forests for the past 5 years, and I have seen first hand the impact that humans have on wild spaces and Park Lands all across the country. I feel compelled and called to use my experience, current and future knowledge to educate people on why it is important and necessary to care about the climate crisis that we are all facing. Some policies that I would personally love to see changed are the allocation of water in chronically drought-ridden areas and how that water is being used to grow non-native crops, more use of sustainable and renewable resources, more care and reverence for our watersheds, and the reconsideration of regulations on livestock farming across the country. I think it is also important to reinforce that we are ALL accountable for what happens to this planet, and we need to start getting serious about saving it before it is too late.