School Instructors
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Sam Brakeley, Assistant School Instructor, Center for Technology, Essex
Sam Brakeley grew up in North Andover, MA where he developed a love for the outdoors at an early age. Several acres of woods and a large pond adorned his backyard and he spent countless hours developing a passion for the outdoor environment building forts, rafts, and trails. He later spent many a happy summer at Keewaydin Camp in Middlebury, VT where he honed his paddling skills while taking multi-week canoe trips through Canada. He went to Colby College, studying Environmental Studies and skiing as much as possible. While in school Sam both thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and thru-paddled the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, managing to squeeze those fantastic trips into his academic schedule. After graduation Sam worked short stints on a trail crew, as a cabin caretaker, on a ski patrol, and as a trip leader for the camp he grew up attending. He continues to indulge in his passions for hiking, skiing, and paddling as frequently as possible while also enjoying a healthy dose of reading good books and baking – a skill that is still in the developmental stages. He is wildly excited to be in Vermont where his father grew up and many of his extended family reside, and is truly looking forward to a great year with the VYCC as a CTE crew School Instructor.
Melody McKnight, Assistant School Instructor, U32 / Montpelier High School
Melody comes to the VYCC from Minnesota, where she spent her last year teaching at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Northern Minnesota. Her favorite classes to teach include Ojibwe Heritage, Stream Study, and Animal Signs. Melody holds a Masters Certificate in Environmental Education, which she earned while teaching at Wolf Ridge. She has six years of experience in adventure and environmental education, and has worked as a Sea Kayak Instructor in Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands, as a Rock Climbing Instructor, and most recently as an Outward Bound Instructor in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness where she lead a 22-day wilderness expedition with at-risk teens. Melody enjoys building furniture with hand tools, playing guitar and clarinet, and is learning how to speak Ojibwe (native group in Minnesota similar to Vermont’s Abenaki). She is thrilled to be working with the VYCC in a program that connects students to their home landscape through work-based learning.
Kaelyn Modrak, Assistant School Instructor, Mount Mansfield Union High School
Kaelyn Modrak grew up in Rochester, NY where she developed great love for Jane Austen, The Band and cheeseburgers. She studied English Literature and Classical Mythology at St. Michael’s College, while also discovering enchantment in the wilderness. After graduating, Kaelyn served for two years with AmeriCorps through Habitat for Humanity in Maine, and the Cape Cod Conservation Corps in Wellfleet, and worked as an environmental educator last year in the beautiful state of Alabama. Kaelyn finds happiness in books, tea, writing, hiking, swimming in oceans and eating burritos. Kaelyn is super excited to be back in Vermont as a School Instructor for the Mount Mansfield Crew, and looks forward to an awesome year.
Caroline Woodward, School Instructor, Center for Technology, Essex
Caroline Woodward joined VYCC as a lead instructor in August of 2011. She graduated from Wittenberg University where she earned certifications in general and special education. While teaching in Massachusetts, Caroline implemented beyond the walls learning opportunities with her students which included sailing and living aboard a square rigged topsail schooner, school ski trips to Maine, and camping on Cape Cod where she and her students engaged in marine biology and conservation studies. Caroline later completed her master’s degree in arts integration at Lesley University. Caroline loves to integrate her passions for the arts, conservation, learning, and teaching. When not with her awesome students, she is with her dynamite daughters and husband, mucking about in the backyard or creating miraculous artistic disasters in the kitchen/art studio.
John Woodward, School Instructor, Mount Mansfield Union High School
John Woodward is a native New Englander who has spent many years teaching at numerous schools as well as at the Montshire Museum of Science where he worked with scientists ages 5-55. He also taught for three years at a middle school in Sao Paulo, Brazil and the last two years outside our nation’s capital. In total, John brings over 18 years of education experience in traditional and non-traditional settings working with students from the very young to the graduate level. He brings experiential, environmental, and traditional education philosophies to his new position working with the Mount Mansfield Union High School crew. A graduate of NOLS and the Colorado Outward Bound School, and a former assistant instructor at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School, John’s passion for teaching and authentic connections with the outdoors was rekindled during his years engaged in the study of Human Ecology at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. When not at the VYCC and with students, John loves to spend time cavorting with his two daughters, Lucy and Hannah Julia, reigniting his desire to learn the bluegrass mandolin, and finding the next great road ride on the back roads of Vermont. He is thrilled to be working with the MMU crew and is ready for a busy and fun-filled summer gearing up for the 2011-2012 crew!
Don Maryanski, School Instructor, U32 / Montpelier High School
Don first worked for the VYCC as a Wilderness Crew Leader in the 2009 Field Season. He brought to the crew experience from his previous job at Big Bend National Park in Texas. He has a solid foundation of technical skills built from his time as a Trail Worker, Crew Leader, and Physical Science Technician at Yosemite National Park in California. Don brings a passion for botany and ecological study. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from the State University of New York Environmental Science and Forestry and an Associate’s Degree in Environmental Studies from Finger Lakes Community College. For Don, instructing a School Crew during the 2009-10 school year seemed like a natural next step. Due to his passion for outdoor education, he'll return as a School Instructor for the 2010-11 school year.
Old Profiles
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