Tulare County Office of Education

Former Interns at SCICON

Feel free to contact any of these individuals to find out about the SCICON internship and how it helped them in their careers. Just click on their name to send them an e-mail inquiry.

Gregory Bahr attended SCICON as a sixth grader and returned as a SCICON intern for the 1989-1990 school year. Having discovered environmental education as his life's career, Gregory earned his degree from Humbolt State University in 1995 and began instructing for Whiskeytown Environmental School. After completing his teaching credential, Gregory taught middle school science for Lindsay Unified. In 2000, he became Program Manager for Redwood Glen Science Camp (San Joaquin County's outdoor school). Gregory happily states, " I am exactly where I want to be!"

Nancy Bruce became an instructor for Yosemite Institute for four years, joyfully leading students on educational explorations of Yosemite National Park. In summer she taught climbing, mountaineering and alpine natural history with the Colorado Outward Bound School. In 1996 Nancy traveled to South Africa and led Zulu students on two week expeditions through the Zulu homeland. Most recently, Nancy has coordinated a docent program for the nature center of Jefferson County Open Space in Golden, Colorado. Nancy has now returned to SCICON as the Circle J - Norris Ranch Education Coordinator.

Rebecca Detrich completed her internship at SCICON during the 2000/01 school year. Since that time, she has worked or participated in numerous outdoor education programs in the United States, as well as overseas in Australia and England. Currently she is a naturalist at the Yosemite Institute in Yosemite National Park.

Myong-jae Kim came to SCICON during the 1990/91 school year. Following SCICON, he was hired by Yosemite Institute as a naturalist. "Moon Jay", as he is known by the kids, stayed at Yosemite Institute for five years as one of their premier instructors. He finally left Yosemite to become the director of Keystone Science School in Keystone, Colorado. After finishing his teaching credential, Myong-jae now lives in Berekely, California where he teaches middle school life science.

Ron Kupka was an intern at SCICON for the 1991/92 school year. He went on to work as a naturalist for Kern County, Los Angeles County and Nawakwa outdoor schools. For four years, Ron and his wife, Carla Trentini-Kupka (also a former SCICON intern) taught at and operated an English language school in Brazil. Ron and Carla have returned to California where Ron serves as the Program Coordinator for Clear Creek Outdoor School.

Cara Laduche participated in the 2003/04 internship. While at SCICON, she was also enrolled in the teacher credentialing program through CalState TEACH. Following the internship, she immediately was hired to teach third grade in Southern California.

Becky Morgan teaches a fourth/fifth grade class at Foothill School of Arts & Science, a private school in Boise, Idaho. Becky completed an internship at SCICON during the 1995/96 school year. She stayed on a second year to specialize in the museum and raptor center at SCICON. This is her fourth year of teaching and she loves it. "I like the continuity of working with the students for a long period of time - one to two years. It really gives you a chance to see them grow. I love the flexibility of my job. We're encouraged to avoid textbook teaching so we use a lot of hands-on and field resources."

Lisa Murphy is currently the director of the Coastal Redwood Environmental Center in Ben Lomond, California. During the summers, Lisa works as a Ranger Naturalist in Tuolomne Meadows for Yosemite National Park. Lisa came to SCICON for her internship during the 1992/93 school year and also returned for two years to work as the SCICON Activity Specialist. Following SCICON, she worked as a whitewater raft guide, taught skiing and snowboarding, and worked at other outdoor schools. Lisa has also served as the Assistant Director at Calvin Crest, a private outdoor school near Yosemite.

Ed and Elizabeth Roberts met at SCICON during the 1995/96 internship. They currently reside in Morro Bay, California. Elizabeth is the Head Naturalist for the KEEP Cambria outdoor school. Elizabeth has also earned her teaching credential through the CalState TEACH program. Ed is a full-time naturalist for the Ocean Keep outdoor school.

Miguel Sainz lives in Buenos Aries, Argentina where he works as a consultant for an environmental resource management firm. He graduated from the Universidad del Salvador with a degree in environmental science. He came to SCICON for the outdoor education internship during the 2003/04 school year. Miguel states that the skills and experiences gained at SCICON are definitely helping him in his new career.

Chris Trammel completed his internship at SCICON during the 1999/2000 school year. After completing the internship, he was a Naturalist for SCICON's high elevation summer program, Camp Cotyac. He currently is a Naturalist for Los Angeles County Outdoor Science School. "SCICON was a great training ground for my current position. If you have any questions about SCICON, feel free to e-mail me."

Additional former SCICON interns include:

Kathe Majors , Instructor, Yosemite Institute
Kyle Darling , Naturalist, Woodleaf Outdoor School, Sutter County, CA
Valerie Bowen , Ranger Naturalist, Isle Royale National Park, MI
Karin Dixon , Doctoral Candidate, U.S.C.
Trevor Reis , High School Biology Teacher, Clovis, CA
Michelle Martin, Ph.D. , Assistant Professor of English, Clemson University

Ask these outdoor educators about SCICON interns:

Pete Devine , Learning Director, Yosemite Institute
Laura Tucker , Educational Consultant, GEMS Project, Lawrence Hall of Science
Tad Drake , Program Director, Exploring New Horizons

Tulare County Office of Education
SCICON
P.O. Box 339
Springville, CA 93265

Rick Mitchell, Administrator
(559) 539-2642
fax: (559) 539-2643

Please direct web site problems or comments to tcoeweb@tcoe.org.