Leah Cantor is the leader for this wonderful Kansas based crew. She is originally from New York and brings a varied background to this crew- having experience teaching in both indoor and outdoor settings. With NorthWest Youth Corps, she worked as an AmeriCorps teacher at an Outdoor Alternative High School. She worked for over a year at Pok‐O-MacCready Outdoor Education Center, in which she was able to get paid to take students Kindergarten to College aged on hikes, bike rides, rock climbing and other fun and exciting outdoor activities. She has also worked for The SCA doing various programs for the past four years. The one she started with and has the most experience with is National High School Crews. She started her wonderful SCA career in Natchez Trace Parkway, MS teaching students how to do various forms of trail work. Her next gig with The SCA was in Chattahoochee National Forest, GA. Next, she had the pleasure of leading with the greatest agency contact of all time (Mr. Steve Lowe) in Harpers Ferry, WV. She enjoyed her time so immensely, that she decided to go back there for a second summer as well. Her next experience with The SCA was attending the Dr. Pepper/Snapple Convention in Texas. Here, along with four others, she focused on getting the public involved with planting native grass and removing trash in a local park. Her next gig with The SCA was with leader teams. She was lucky enough to be put on a Fall 2012 Virginia Crew with four other wonderful people. Here, she was able to step up her trail skills and she was working with peers- as opposed to high school students, which was a fun change of pace. In this crew they focused on creating a new trail where the owner of the park had been hoping one would be built for years. We focused on fence construction out of rustic timber that we chainsawed down. Our team also built a dead-man retaining wall out of rustic timber we also cut down. The next SCA leader team she was given a chance to be a part of was something she will never forget. She was lucky enough to be chosen to be a part of the wonderful Hurricane Sandy Relief Team. Here, the crew focused on tree removal with chainsaws and general trail maintenance on both hiking and biking trails. This crew went around to 6 different state parks in New Jersey during the 14 days. She felt accomplished in doing her part to help the general public after a major natural disaster. Her personal goal for this program is to constantly immerse herself in new places and parks, always learning ways that will help her move forward with her outdoor education life. Her professional goal for this program is to become a better leader for The SCA, learning how to adapt her ways to maximize the potential for each of her members- which she will hopefully attain by being given the chance to continue supervising peers this summer.
