"I plan to change the world; thanks for the jump start." These words, written by a student in response to a program evaluation question about the influence of The School for Field Studies (SFS) experience on future choices, capture the energy of the transformative impact of a semester with SFS.
SFS is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 educational institution. We try to keep tuition as low as possible to maximize access to the unique educational model we offer, and we depend on the generosity of people like you, who have seen or felt the impact of our work, to close the gap between costs and tuition.
Every alumna and alumnus of the SFS program received a jump start to some degree by the gifts of those who went before them, those who believed so strongly in our mission to educate and train new environmental leaders through field education that they gave generously so SFS could meet challenges and opportunities with agility and provided necessary scholarship aid.
Students who have completed the SFS program and graduated from college hold positions ranging from the Environmental Health and Safety Manager at Caterpillar, to Business Analyst for Sustainable Products for Alcoa, to Professor of Integrative Biology, to Sustainable Energy Advisor at the UN Environment Program. Add to that countless teachers, community activists, zookeepers, and researchers—and even a noted film director—who have benefited from SFS! SFS students will change the world—with your help.
Join the SFS family in helping to jump start this generation of environmental leaders!
All donations to The School for Field Studies are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
2012 ANNUAL REPORT
DOWNLOAD RESOURCES
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Anne Rosinski
Turks and Caicos Islands Spring '07"I find myself constantly drawing from the knowledge and confidence built during my time at SFS."
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David Bennett
Mexico Summer ‘97; SFS Intern Mexico Spring ‘98"Through SFS, I learned first-hand the value of incorporating local knowledge into the process of defining the problem and exploring solutions."
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Emma Impink
Kenya Spring ‘09"SFS taught me some of the core values in pastoral communities and how to be respectful and appreciative of them."
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Jeffrey Flocken
Kenya Summer '90"I saw my first wild elephants when I was on the SFS course in Kenya. Now, many years later, I was directly part of a victory that will stop thousands of elephant ivory pieces from being sold online."
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Jennifer Loose Ryan
Costa Rica Spring ’94"Advocacy is a lot of fun. It is always varied, so you get to meet a whole range of people and work on a range of issues."
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Karma Yangzom
Bhutan Summer '11"Working with people from different parts of the world is a rare chance that you can’t easily get in Bhutan."
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Katlin Kraska
Kenya/Tanzania Spring '12"The research experience I got with SFS was invaluable."
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Stephanie Schuttler
SFS Kenya Summer ’02; SFS Kenya Intern ‘05"I wanted my research to have an impact on conservation, and I felt that if I could gather more information on this species, the African forest elephants, we would be better equipped to protect them in the future."
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Amanda Greenstein and Chrissy Lamendola
Greenstein TCI Spring '11; Lamendola TCI Spring '10"At the end of the dive, we saw a pod of five dolphins and a huge turtle. I thought, ‘this is incredible. If this is any sign of the year to come, this is going to be awesome.’"
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Becky Halvorsen
East Africa Fall '10; Kenya Public Health Summer '12"I ended up falling in love with the people there. It was one of the experiences that helped me make up my mind about pursuing a career in medicine."
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Britta Baechler
Turks and Caicos Islands Fall '07"What I took away from my experience at SFS was a deep appreciation for the complexity of coral reef ecosystems, as well as a sense of responsibility to contribute to reef conservation efforts in the future."
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Chez Brungraber
Kenya Spring ‘03"As an environmental consultant and botanist, I spend most of the year in the desert, mountains, or wetlands, surveying for rare flowers, butterflies, or birds."
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Darren Aronofsky
Kenya Summer '85; Alaska Summer '86"My two summers with The School for Field Studies completely changed my life. There were so many amazing individual experiences that had a huge impact on me, and it’s easy for me to draw from them."
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Diana Boon
Kenya Fall ’90"I have a feeling all of this experience made my application to veterinary school very interesting and well-rounded, plus helped me to make more contacts within the wildlife and zoo medicine field."
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Ellen George
Turks and Caicos Spring '09"SFS offered me the best chance to do hands-on research during my study abroad, which is essential experience for a future field biologist!"
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Ethan Zohn
TCI Spring '95"There were plenty of times when we could have stopped, and plenty of reasons: governments, lack of money and so on. But the goal was always in the back of our minds. It's a bit like the scientific process – what is the problem? What is our hypothesis?"
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Justin Dohn and Andrew Tredennick
Dohn - Australia Spring ’08; Tredennick - Kenya Fall ‘05"My field experience in Australia is the source of my passion and enthusiasm for ecological research."
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Kimbrough Mauney
TCI Summer '00"It is a great program, and it is academically strong. I am so happy to be a part of it."
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Lauren Thie
Kenya Summer '06"Seeing Mt. Kilimanjaro’s glaciers connected me with climate change in a new way."
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Mallory Dimmitt and Carlton Ward, Jr.
Dimmitt Mexico Spring ’97; Ward Kenya Summer ’97"I look back and the most challenging days are the most memorable. They are things we overcame and managed to enjoy."
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Maya Higgins
Kenya Fall '08"During her amazing year as a Watson Fellow, Maya swam with whale sharks, watched yellow-eyed penguins nesting, and 'discovered how to easily shed stress and live in the moment, how to connect with people from various backgrounds, and how to live humbly and modestly with few possessions.'"
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Ruth Baldwin
Mexico Fall '04"This was one of the most memorable and best experiences of my life. I highly recommend doing an SFS program and living every moment of it to the fullest!"
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Sarah Mussoline
Turks and Caicos Fall ’06"SFS inspired me to pursue a job studying the marine environment."
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Annie Provo
Field Practicum in Public Health and Environment - Kenya Summer '09"I learned to look at the world in an entirely new way and had begun to identify the biases that influence the way in which I approach the world and new situations."
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Aubrey Ellertson
Turks and Caicos Islands Spring '10"My interactions with these amazing people have completely reshaped my life and world view. I learned the health of an ecosystem is measured by the health of the community."
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Brian Gill
Costa Rica Summer '08; Intern Costa Rica '09-'10"My experiences at SFS have certainly helped me to gain perspective and focus on my professional goals, and they empowered me with a desirable skill set for graduate study of ecology in the tropics."
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Carolyn Doherty
Turks and Caicos Fall '09"Our class had some hilarious mnemonic devices to help us remember the scientific names of all the species of algae, reef fish, and corals. I actually still remember most of them!"
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Cassie Freund
Kenya Summer '09"My SFS experience affirmed what I already knew about myself. I wanted to spend my life doing ecological field research."
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Clifford Haugen
Turks and Caicos Islands Summer '95"It is good to know that, despite challenges, The School for Field Studies remains committed to marine resource studies on South Caicos. They are clearly a positive influence in the community and, I have no doubt, are still changing students’ lives every day."
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Douglas Fudge
North Atlantic Summer '87"I was on night watch and was down below recording data in the log book when I heard an unfamiliar, low creaking noise. When I told our professor, Steve Schwartz, he immediately sprang into action, grabbed his hydrophone, and started lowering it into the water."
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Eleanor Mayer
Australia Spring '01"At SFS, I felt plugged into the environment that I was in, rather than being a tourist. As a planner, you want to be really plugged into the environment where you work."
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Florence Reed
Australia Fall '87"I left SFS with a desire to protect what was left of the world’s tropical forests and a much deeper appreciation of the interconnectedness of life…of all the flora and fauna."
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Future Leaders Team
Tony Christopher - Costa Rica Summer '07, Daniel Lieberman - Kenya Spring '99, Rainy Shorey - Kenya Summer '96"When working on a big picture concept like ‘Vision 2050’ with the Future Leaders Team, having a fundamental understanding of how things work on a local level really helped."
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Gayle Schmidt
Australia Fall ’02"I saw the importance of learning how to re-plant and re-populate a rainforest plot, but I also realized that projects can't go far without the collective support and concern of others."
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Helena Manzella
Costa Rica Spring '10"It is one thing to learn about the socioeconomic-environmental 'give-and-take' of developing urban areas, but it is something else entirely to discuss it in the home of a trash collector whose wife works at the Marriott two beaches away..."
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Jaime R. Calzada-Marrero
TCI Summer 2011"One day, it occurred to me: I love the water, I have a degree in physics – why can’t I combine them and do both?"
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Kristen Patterson
Palau Spring '95"We swam in the lake, surrounded by millions of jellyfish, and we did not feel a thing. It was like floating in a bath of warm, salty Jell-O. Witnessing evolution up close and personal made a lasting impression."
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Maria Fernanda Obando Quesada
Costa Rica Summer '11"We taught schoolchildren that the rivers are not simply water but that there is life in the river, the aquatic insects, and all living things benefit from them."
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Matt Richter
Bhutan summer '10"Working with a fixed 35mm lens forced me to get close to people. I found that if I was open with my subjects and showed a keen interest in them, they were willing to let me photograph them. Usually they were just amused by the funny kid with a camera."
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Rob Holmes
Kenya Fall '90"SFS laid the foundation for building my key passions: conservation, media, and international travel. I was a self-taught photographer in Africa learning about wildlife management. And now, these passions are the heart of Green Living Project."
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Sarah Jean Byce
TCI Fall '10"I left the island of South Caicos in December of 2010, and my journeys since -- from South Caicos to Virginia to North Carolina to Idaho to Chile -- have all involved, in some way, a continuation of the academic projects and experiential leaning principles introduced to me at the SFS Center for Marine Resources."
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Stephanie Eby
Kenya Spring ’01"For the first two and a half years of my undergraduate education at Bates College I took all of the necessary courses for veterinary school and spent my summers volunteering at veterinary hospitals. However, in Kenya, all of that changed."
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Taryn Page
Mexico Summer '05"Studying with SFS truly shaped me as a teacher, sparking in me a strong passion to impart a love of learning about environmental issues."
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CONTACT
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Priscilla Deck
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
pdeck@fieldstudies.org
978.219.5140

