Indira Phukan

Indira Phukan

Field Science Educator


NatureBridge

Yosemite, CA USA


When you don't know what you want to do with your life, you don't know what makes you happy, you have all these pressures, and you're broke, it's a really beautiful mess. Those times are hard, but they're the times when you're going to grow the most.

Videos

By Roadtrip Nation

Indira Phukan

Milestones

My road in life took a while to figure out.
After college, she joined a nonprofit and taught for two years.
Loved teaching, but was really unhappy with the pressure to teach to certain curricula and meet certain standards.
Didn't know what her next step would be, so she went on a road trip to Yosemite and fell in love.
Tried to figure out how she could stay there and live there; someone told her about NatureBridge.
NatureBridge teaches children environmental literacy; often their students are from underrepresented communities.
Gets to see her students experience huge interpersonal and personal growth as a result of the various hikes and team-building activities.
One of her favorite quotes is, "We haven't inherited the earth from our ancestors; we've borrowed it from our children."
Says that in order to live in harmony with their surroundings, kids need environmental education and time spent in nature.
Keep following my journey

Career

Field Science Educator

I teach students science and environmental stewardship in the beautiful classroom of Yosemite National Park.

Career Roadmap

Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Environment & Nature
Teaching / Mentoring

Day to Day

I design and teach science curriculum to students aged 10 through 22. I coordinate and organize on-site school arrivals, program experience, and departures for as many as 300 students. Through interviews and observations, I provide recommendations for increasing culturally-relevant teaching methods in the field.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for college students

You will figure out what you want to do eventually. Do not rush that process. This is a unique time in your life where you can experiment and explore opportunities, so do it!

Recommended Education

My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Family:

"Why are you not back in school? "

Challenges I Overcame

First-Generation Immigrant