My name is Matt Koenig. I was born and raised in various parts of Ohio. Ever since I was young, I’ve been outdoors. Around age 10, I moved up to a newly formed suburb of Columbus. It was a perfect situation; our house was one of the few on the street, with a pond in the backyard and nearby forests so thick it was difficult to move through. In my late teens, the area grew very rapidly. I saw suburbs, shopping centers and urbanization right before my eyes. Ever since, I’ve wanted to get back to it. After graduating high school, I decided it was time for a change of scenery, and moved out west.
I am a senior at Northern Arizona University. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be graduating in the fall with a degree in Environmental Studies. I’ve worked with a local environmental group, the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, dedicated to bringing the Mexican Grey Wolf back to one of it’s natural environments, the Mogollan Rim of Arizona. I want to spend my life working in the outdoors, ideally to conserve and maintain it for future generation. This is why I am looking forward to working with the Student Conservation Association. I could not ask for a better way to spend my summer.
