My name is Hannah, and I am on quite the adventure.

I don't live in my hometown, and when I visit, a lot of people ask me what I'm up to. That question makes my head spin, as I'm often not sure where to start filling them in. The last time many of these individuals saw me was when I graduated from high school in 2013, and it's shocking what I've managed to do with 5 years. 

I spent 3 years getting my undergraduate degree from Grand Valley State University in Natural Resource Management, with a minor in Biology, as a student in the Meijer Honors College. I also studied photography during this time, finishing all but one semester of my photography degree. While completing my B.S., I had an intensely transformative study abroad experience in South Africa and Mozambique, studying field biology and community based natural resource management. Something clicked amidst the silver cluster-leaf shrubs and Marula trees in the African bush, looking at hippo scat and photographing elephants, and I decided that no matter what I ended up doing professionally, it needed to be connected to the soil that covered my hands and feet in those moments. 

When I graduated with my degree at the age of 20, I found myself interning at a local environmental nonprofit, and turned that opportunity into a short career in community engagement and environmental education at two nonprofits in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I kept my promise to myself, coming home with dirty hands and dusty boots at least twice a week. I enjoyed coordinating zero-waste programming, facilitating watershed education, growing organic food in the gardens of disenfranchised communities, teaching soil science and plant biology to children, and developing curriculum about renewable energy, farm-to-table education, and nutrition for students of all ages. 

I loved my jobs, but I was called in a new direction. In September of 2017, I accepted an environmental education position with the United States Peace Corps in Panama. After 5 grueling months of completing medical tasks to achieve medical and legal clearance to fulfill the requirements for my position, I prepared to leave in February of 2018. 

After about five months in Panama, I was feeling the itch to go home for a number of reasons, and decided to pack up and go back to Michigan. After a few months of instability, I’ve found my stride again and have hit the ground running, pursuing a number of personal and professional projects. While I’ve still found myself working in education full time, I’m exploring a lot of what else life has to offer, outside of the hours of 8-4 pm; take a look.