Hello everyone! My name is Tori Auger,

...and I am honored to be this year’s My Outdoors Colorado (MOC) Coalition scholarship recipient! I am going into my junior year at Colorado State University’s Warner College studying Human Dimensions of Natural Resources with a minor in Conservation Biology. My dog Toast and I live in Fort Collins, Colorado where we enjoy wildlife watching, exploring the city's many natural spaces, and splashing around with the macroinvertebrates in ponds and the Poudre River. When I am not in classes or exploring the nature Fort Collins has to offer, I am at my job working as a Student Recruitment Ambassador for Warner College helping other young stewards find their path into the environmental field. I am passionate about protecting the natural world and absolutely love learning and teaching about environmental stewardship.

I chose to pursue a degree in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources because, for as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be an environmental educator. I grew up fascinated with animals and the outdoors. I loved attending outdoor learning summer camps, which fostered my interests by showing me all the wonders of the natural world, and I fell completely in love. As I got older, I started learning about the many threats that face the natural world and knew I had to do something about it. Having been exposed to environmental education at a young age and recognizing the profound effect it had on me, I realized the power of this work and set out to become an environmental educator myself to help foster the principles of environmental stewardship in kids just like me. 

Since then, I have spent several summers working as an environmental educator for The Greenway Foundation’s SPREE program and it has been monumentally rewarding. Seeing kids engage in nature and develop genuine connections and care for the world around them fills me with hope. I know that these kids will grow up to be the next generation of voters, lawmakers, politicians, activists, and stewards caring for our planet, and seeing them become environmentally conscious and informed inspires me to envision a future where they can make real change. It is immensely fulfilling to know that I am helping build a body of future conservationists who will be able to work together and tackle the environmental challenges of our time. I believe that each child who grows up experiencing true engagement in and education about the natural world can become a great steward and help us face the future.

This scholarship is instrumental in helping me achieve these goals. The incredibly generous contribution almost fully covers my yearly tuition here at CSU, allowing me to focus on getting the best education I can. The Warner College of Natural Resources is a completely unique institution that offers top of the line education and training in the natural resources fields. Being a student at this college provides me with all the resources and skills I need to become the best environmental educator I can be. My experiences and learning at Warner College will be invaluable in my future career, helping me make the impact I hope to create, and the My Outdoors Colorado (MOC) Scholarship is an incredible asset to this dream. I can not express enough how grateful I am to be supported by such an incredible community and how honored I am to have received this funding, it is truly a vital resource that my academic career would not be the same without. Thank you very much for your incredible generosity and support and I can’t wait to learn more about how to care for this wonderful world we have!