Statement of Purpose: Ten Strands continues to introduce its staff through statements of purpose that reveal the motivations and ambitions of their work. Today, we hear from Sarah Whiting, Ten Strands’ director of client engagement services and data science, whose fascination with the natural world was nurtured from an early age.
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the natural world. I attribute much of this to my family and the experiences they immersed me in from a young age. Since my father is a research medical physicist and my mother was a middle school science teacher (now retired), they not only modeled a curious mindset, but they also believed that it was paramount to our development as people that my brother and I were intentionally exposed to science, nature, diverse foods, and the arts. My childhood memories are filled with opportunities for me to explore science and nature, from dissecting a pig’s heart on the dining room table during breakfast to backpacking in the Sierras. I was also plunged into education at a young age, assisting my mother with her “Discovery Science” summer program for second to sixth graders when I was only in fifth grade myself. (I’m sure the sixth graders loved having me as their TA.)
Growing up in Los Angeles, I also remember becoming acutely aware of environmental issues from a young age, especially when it came to drought and water conservation. I recall having many conversations with my parents about the issues of Los Angeles’s water source, population, and climate. To this day, “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” rings in my head when reaching to flush. My father even uncovered a home video of a six-year-old me creating an impromptu public service announcement in my backyard on the natural world and the need for recycling.
Although I was deeply privileged to have so many educational experiences in my formative years, school was very difficult for me. As a child with ADHD (undiagnosed until sixth grade), I often missed out on creative and collaborative activities as I struggled to catch up on things like memorizing my math facts or spelling words. The only times when I felt that I could be successful at school was when we were working on projects that focused on hands-on solutions to real-world problems, especially when it involved the environment. My personal struggles combined with the love of teaching instilled in me by my mother led me to enter teaching after college. Once I entered the classroom, I soon found that I was not alone in how I related to school. Many of my students who felt that school was not for them on engaged quickly with environmental projects and outdoor learning. Throughout my years the classroom, I became more and more frustrated by how few of those types of experiences were accessible to our students.
What brought me to Ten Strands was how the organization aimed to be the “little tugboat that changes the direction of the supertanker that is the education system” (Will Parish – Founder). My hope is that, through our work, we can begin to change course from an educational system that often makes students feel incapable of academic success and move it towards a system that provides relevant, hands-on learning experiences. We need to both engage students and equip them with the skills and hope necessary to deal with the massive environmental challenges that they will face in their lifetimes. Also, as a skier, SCUBA diver, and lover of animals, I selfishly hope to encourage more people to engage in climate action so that I, and future generations, may continue to enjoy the incredible natural world that surrounds us.
