Recreation Experience

October 2023 - Present

In my time at Appalachian Power, I've hiked along the shores of Smith Mountain and Leesville Lakes to inspect many properties for environmental compliance. 

November 2019 - July 2021

I served as Staff Advisor to the Natural Resource Stewardship Committee while working at Orem City. I guided committee members on strategies to help citizens reduce carbon emissions, promote the outdoors, and preserve the City's natural resources. 

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I invited guest speakers to attend meetings, which resulted in commitments to environmental stewardship from other City departments, including the initiation of a Bicycle Master Plan update, potable water conservation, and a social marketing strategy to reducing idling.

May 2016 - September 2019

I spent three and a half years as a Scoutmaster. During that time, I taught a dozen young men life skills once a week. I went on several camping trips with them and encouraged them to be adventurous in the outdoors. 

Spring Semester 2018

Under the direction of regional planners, I led 10 classmates to digitize hundreds of user-made trails, game trails, and access roads along the northern rim of Utah Valley. 

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This project was driven by the Mountainland Association of Governments, the regional MPO for the Provo area. This project was needed when local mountain bikers began to share self-made trails online. This lead to lands set aside for wildlife habitat being degraded by well-intended recreationists. My class's role was to help gather the GIS data to enable the regional planners to begin a conversation with trail user groups as to how best balance the needs of the environment with recreation opportunities. 

As a Boy Scout, I earned many awards, including the highest rank of Eagle Scout. In high school, I participated in Venturing, which is a high-adventure focused scouting program. In that program, I received the highest award of Venturing Silver.

September 2022 - October 2023

While at Roanoke County, I participated in the Roanoke Valley Blueways Commission and the Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission. These organizations focus on regional planning for recreation in the Roanoke area's waterways and greenways.

Fall Semester 2022

A significant portion of this applied student project focused on improving cycling recreational opportunities in an urban setting. My role in this project was primarily researching the best practices of bicycle planning. 

Fall Semester 2018

For this Applied Student Project, I wrote the Environment chapter of the plan, which primarily covered natural disaster risk and potential environmental impact of future development on the environment.

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I also contributed to the Economic Development chapter by writing the section on Tourism, which in part focused on opportunities for Outdoor Recreation Tourism.

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In addition, I contributed to the Recreation and Trails chapter by using ArcMap to build maps for the chapter and leading the student in charge of that chapter through a SWOT analysis. 

I have many outdoor hobbies, including hiking, biking, rock climbing, kayaking, and camping. These days I don't get to do these hobbies as often as I'd like to, but I have always enjoyed getting outside.

As a teenager, I was the lead staff member over the Outdoor Skills area. I taught boys how to build fires, first aid skills, leadership skills, how use a compass, how to tie knots, and how to survive in the wilderness. I also taught other staff members how to teach other boys these same skills.