Member Bios

This is my second season serving with the SCA. Last season I served as a FIREMON Individual Placement in the Great Plains Region. I went to Metropolitan State College of Denver and received a degree in Anthropology with course work in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). I look forward to this opportunity with the SCA to learn more about land management, fire ecology, and the US Forest Service. When I’m not counting trees in the forest, you might find me climbing in West Virginia.

Having worked with the SCA in Tucson, Arizona last summer on an invasive species treatment program, I've decided to return this season for another Americorps position. I think the work the SCA does throughout the nation is important in fostering a tradition of environmental stewardship among America's youth. It is with great pleasure that I commit myself to serving and learning more about the local environment by working with upstanding individuals with whom I share many common interests and core values.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of Missouri and hope to employ myself in the fields of conservation or outdoor recreation in the future. I find the experiences that can be provided by the SCA and Americorps to be unmatched in terms of their value in building my future and enriching my life. I look forward to living and working with the great team we have here in Ohio this summer and fall.

This is my first experience serving with the SCA, but is not my first time living far from what I know. I have taken opportunities to live and work in various places across the country in order to experience local cultures and landscapes. This year I look forward to gaining experience in a potential career field and a new place.

As a recent graduate in Geography and GIS, I am looking for direction and am hoping this experience will help illuminate my path to the next step in life. In the meantime, I enjoy many activities across the wide spectrum of outdoor recreation.

I have always loved the outdoors and the environment, participating in the Boy Scouts in High School and later in my Universities' outdoor club. Naturally, I decided to pursue an internship that will allow me to work in the outdoors, for the preservation of the environment. I am excited for the opportunities that the position will afford me. I am hoping to pursue this type of forestry work in the future through the Peace Corps.

Hello to all, I am Melissa Whistleman, daughter of Margaret Stewart and sister of Jeremy Whistleman. I am currently studying Biochemistry at Radford University in Virginia. Ever since I can remember I have felt a strong connection to the outdoors; camping, hiking, planting, and just wandering through nature. I feel as though the mission of my life is to help; whether that is restoring a national park, repopulating the earth with vegetation, or by learning from and helping others with the daily issues that face us all. I believe that by joining the SCA I will be able to proceed further with helping, learning, and educating individuals as well as the world about conservation and the act of restoring the earth’s natural wonders through hard work and dedication.