Me and my two younger brothers at the top of Perry Tower

I have always been interested in sustainability, birding, and business. When I heard I might be able to help setup a sustainable gift shop in Costa Rica I knew I couldn’t turn down the chance. I leave for Costa Rica in a few weeks, but until then I will be posting on this blog. First, I thought I should introduce myself.

Growing up, I didn’t have a normal toilet. Instead of living in a house we lived in an RV for the first 19 years of my life until going to college. My dad does retail construction, so we move around every couple of months. In our 20+ years on the road I have been to 46 states and an uncountable number of Flying J rest stops. Because of our nomadic lifestyle I was homeschooled until going to college. We followed more “at your own pace” style of learning instead going by the books. My two younger brothers and I were left to pursue whatever we enjoyed most. We often took advantage of where were staying and went to many national parks, museums, and did local volunteer work.

Because I was allowed to focus on what I enjoyed, I developed a lot of hobbies and interests. I enjoy birding and keep a list of all the birds I have identified. As we traveled the country I have identified over 150 different birds. Some of my favorite places for bird watching that we have stayed over the years are southern California, northern Wisconsin , and Florida. Part of the reason I am so excited for my internship in Costa Rica is to see a completely different set of birds. I also like to crochet, do origami, program, bike, play mandolin, and stargaze. When I first went to college I had a lot of trouble picking a major. I had never had to focus on just one thing before and always had a lot of different hobbies. However, a few weeks into the semester I realized the class where I was always excited to do the homework was my CS 131 class. I’m now a Junior at Wells and I’m majoring in computer science and minoring in sustainability and math.

I’m looking forward to flying to Costa Rica in a few weeks and finding interesting articles to write about for this blog!