I lived and worked in Japan for 6 years and had no idea what I wanted to do other than go to either Brazil or India. My meditation teacher at the time said, “Come to my retreat center.” which is where I happened to stay for 9 months. I then decided to become a Massage Therapist and moved to Seattle in 2015. Summer of 2016, my first job as a massage therapist was at a lodge in Alaska which is where I first heard of NOLS (the National Outdoor Leadership School). About two years later I went back to the NOLS website looking for a Wilderness First Responder course, because I didn’t know how to tape an ankle, let alone read a topo map as my heart was so eager to lead outdoor wellness retreats and navigate off-trail with just a compass and contour lines.

While I was looking for a Wilderness First Responder course, I came across an 80-day Pacific Northwest expedition which lit something in me and fall of 2019 I left Portland to join it. During the first 30-day section, one of my mountaineering instructors, Emery — who was also on the hiring team — encouraged me to apply to become a NOLS instructor. I figured: if someone from the admin team is encouraging me to apply, why not give it a try?!