Master of Science in Environmental Education (MSEE)

The beauty and diversity of our region in southwest Oregon is what makes it so attractive for residents and tourists but it’s also a lure for SOU graduate students in the Master of Science in Environmental Education (MSEE) program. Students have ready-made outdoor classrooms in the Siskiyou and Cascade Mountains, just minutes from campus. And bringing in graduate students who share the diversity and wisdom of other campuses and regions, helps the overall campus vibe. Students in the MSEE program get to explore as part of the program’s curriculum but they’re also encouraged to get out on our nearby public lands. Four MSEE students took advantage in mid-October of 2019, a few days removed from a Cascade Mountains snow storm, to climb the steep and challenging “lightning rod” of the Cascades, 9,182 foot Mt. Thielsen. A random encounter and visit that day on the summit ledge with SOU Alumni Director Mike Beagle ’85, led to a picture of the four and the opportunity to follow up nearly three years later.

Sami Wolniakowski MSEE ’20 grew up in Mequon, Wisconsin then earned her degree in elementary education from St. Norbert College in Wisconsin. She was teaching at the Teton Science School (TSS) in Wyoming and found out about the MSEE program from a TSS colleague, Hope Braithwaite MSEE ’18, who highly recommended it. “This program was a perfect match for me. I had an Assistant Office Manager position with the Environmental Education program as a graduate assistant and in the program, I learned everything from how to write grants to marketing to building curriculum for an outdoor education program,” she said. She believes like many of her cohort that the pandemic helped broaden their world views and provided them the opportunity to be creative and try new ideas and curriculum techniques. In her new position as Director of Outdoor Education at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado, she was selected out of 100 applicants because the MSEE program did such a superb job of transitioning to virtual learning. She cites Teresa Coker as being a great asset and friend for her cohort. “Teresa had a great resume and connections and was a positive influence on all of the students. She is a great role model,” she added. Sami was grateful coming from the Midwest that she got to learn about every ecosystem in Oregon and loved the hands-on aspect of the program. Additionally, she believes that the program helped her get a position teaching part time at the Front Range College in the Forestry Department in environmental field education.

Marina Peebles MSEE and MAT ’21 grew up in the East Bay of California and earned her degree in hydrology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She heard about the MSEE program at SOU through a friend and previous cohort member, Kelly Ann Campbell MSEE ’13. She didn’t visit Ashland or the campus but decided to attend anyway and fell in love with Ashland. “I’m a California coast person and being away from the ocean for the first time was different for me but I adored my time in Ashland and in the program. Our cohort was small and all of my class sizes were small which was a much different, though enlightening experience for me coming from a university with 25,000 students and huge classes,” she said. “We had field trips into the Siskiyous and Cascades, even during the pandemic so that made Zoom learning more tolerable during the pandemic.” Marina worked as a graduate assistant at SOU, teaching undergraduate biology labs. She had to balance her time with SOU’s MAT program as well and did her student teaching experience in ninth grade biology at North Medford High School. “My daily regimen was extremely busy but I respond better to challenges when my schedule is full,” she added. She cites Stewart Janes and Teresa Coker as exemplary role models to the cohort.
“Stewart was extremely knowledgeable, supportive, and challenged us in new ways as educators. Teresa was the person that held us all together and kept us on track. I’m so appreciative of them, my cohort and the entire program.” She now teaches seventh grade science in Santa Barbara.

Courtney Buel MSEE ’20 grew up in Marin County, California and graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in marine biology. She heard about the MSEE program by searching online and was hoping to find a program in close proximity to California. She visited the campus and immediately felt comfortable in Ashland and decided to make the move. During the program, she enjoyed learning the natural history of the Cascade-Siskiyou bioregion. “Like many in our cohort, we appreciated the knowledge, field experience and expertise that Michael Parker shared with us in his biology courses. He was fun and enthusiastic and that really helped us feel comfortable and motivated us to get the best out of the experience,” she said. In addition to pursuing her master’s degree, Courtney held a graduate assistantship as the Office Manager of the Environmental Education program and also received a Certificate of Accomplishment in Non-profit Management. She now lives in San Rafael, California and works as a Management Analyst for the Ross Valley Sanitary District.

Monique Streit MSEE ’20 grew up in Yosemite and Grand Canyon National Parks and later graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in elementary education. She taught 4th grade and partnered with an environmental education organization and later incorporated the group’s work into her curriculum. She enjoyed it so much that she started researching online to see what environmental education master’s programs existed. She saw that there were graduate assistantships available and that the cohort would be small at SOU, which was very attractive to her. “I had applied to SOU for undergrad but decided to stay home for in-state tuition. So, applying for graduate school then making a campus visit on a day that it had snowed in Ashland, made my visit magical,” she said. Once on campus in the summer of 2019, she secured a graduate assistantship as the Fall in the Field Coordinator organizing and setting up field trips and outdoor education opportunities for the MSEE program. “I didn’t have much of a science background when I entered the SOU program so having classes with professors like Michael Parker ’81 in biology really helped me to expand my knowledge base. I use everything I learned in the program daily in my job as the River Education Manager at South Yuba River Citizens League in Nevada City, CA,” she added. Her cohort had to endure the COVID-19 pandemic the last nine months of the program but Monique views it as a learning opportunity. “We all learned how to use Zoom for our daily lessons and that has helped all of us to branch out and be creative about how we teach in the future. I’m so thankful for the program and the leadership of Stewart Janes and my cohort members, who all rallied to make the best of a trying situation.”

Learn more: MSEE Program at SOU