Indira Phukan
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."
Career Roadmap
Indira's work combines: Education, Environment & Nature, and Teaching / Mentoring
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
My parents really wanted me to get a doctorate, so that was the message that I had grown up with. When I decided I didn't want to do that right away, I chose to follow my heart and not listen to my parents. It was really hard, but I grew and learned the most during this time. I had to realize that uncertainty is okay.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
History, General
Harvard University
Bachelor's Degree
Classical, Ancient Mediterranean, and Near Eastern Studies and Archaeology
Harvard University
Graduate Degree
Special Education and Teaching, General
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
After college, she joined a nonprofit and taught for two years.
2.
Loved teaching, but was really unhappy with the pressure to teach to certain curricula and meet certain standards.
3.
Didn't know what her next step would be, so she went on a road trip to Yosemite and fell in love.
4.
Tried to figure out how she could stay there and live there; someone told her about NatureBridge.
5.
NatureBridge teaches children environmental literacy; often their students are from underrepresented communities.
6.
Gets to see her students experience huge interpersonal and personal growth as a result of the various hikes and team-building activities.
7.
One of her favorite quotes is, "We haven't inherited the earth from our ancestors; we've borrowed it from our children."
8.
Says that in order to live in harmony with their surroundings, kids need environmental education and time spent in nature.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Family:
Why are you not back in school?
How I responded:
My parents really wanted me to get a doctorate, so that was the message that I had grown up with. When I decided I didn't want to do that right away, I chose to follow my heart and not listen to my parents. It was really hard, but I grew and learned the most during this time. I had to realize that uncertainty is okay.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I am a first-generation resident in this country. My parents were immigrants.