Wonder-Maker | Katrina Fauss '01

I first went to Hood because of the generous scholarships and financial aid package, but I stayed and fell in love with it because of the Hood Community. It was such a wonderful experience to find a community that was welcoming, supportive, and had lots of opportunities to explore. It is that sense of community that has stayed with me throughout my career. My favorite memories all revolve around living in Shriner Hall (ooh, ahh). I was the president of Shriner a year that we won the pink spoon and then one ill-fated night Meyran Stole it from us, and it set off a great year of silly back and forth with the spoon. Campus safety even got involved (in a fun way) and helped us look for it. In the end we got it back and I have an ID card for the pink spoon that campus safety made me.  I also have a lot of great memories of getting the softball team started and the work that went into trying to get it up and running.  We literally cut the field ourselves on spring break.  It was a lot of hard work but such a sense of accomplishment. I was also involved with the Student Activities office and Campus Activities Board and helped me find my first career in Student Affairs. The employees in that department were huge mentors for me as I pursued Higher Ed for a while.  They also helped me learn and understand event planning and management which I use to this day in my current career. My time at Hood was well spent and much treasured. 

My job is to help connect people to nature and community through nature-based programs and educational programming. I help people make a connection to the world around them so that they care enough to take action to care for it.  My place in the broader scientific/ environmental field is taking scientific information and knowledge and making it accessible to the people who visit our park and nature center. I also help people find a way to feel connected to the natural world by using that information to connect them using senses, feelings, art, play and many more interpretive. I’m part storyteller, part guide, and part wonder maker. 

I think the advice I would give is to find your why and follow it. Find the thing that you feel inspired to do or change and go with that. If you are passionate about trash reduction than do things like reducing your own trash and then join a clean-up. If you are connected to a place and want to help protect it then find out how to help.  If you truly care about something, the actions you take won’t feel as hard and will become more a part of your everyday life.  

Take advantage of as many opportunities as you can to try things.  Don’t be afraid to follow a something that sparks inside of you. This is a second career for me and I’m so happy to be in my dream job because I followed the things that I was interested in.