My Journey to Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation

By Anna Sisson 

Ever since I can remember, I have had a passion to work for the good of the Earth and bridge the gap between communities and nature. Because of this, it was easy to determine my major and concentration in college, which was Natural Resource Environmental Conservation with a concentration in Natural Resource Law and Administration. Going through college at Mississippi State University, I studied abroad for a summer in Costa Rica. This experience opened my eyes to the world outside of the southern United States. Eager to explore, I became interested in venturing out of Mississippi, post-college, and finding a new state to call home. 

In May 2024, with seven months until graduation, I started my job search. This was not a small feat. I did not have a particular company or job title in mind, just something that I would be passionate about. When November 2024 rolled around, I was panicking. Graduation was approaching, and I was still job searching, applying, and yet to find my match. Therefore, I scheduled an urgent meeting with my advisor to see if she had any advice. She suggested that I look on the Americorps website and filter for “environmental” jobs. Then, select any particular state that I want to move to. I decided just to stick with the “environmental” filter and keep the region open to the entire United States. 

One night, I applied to several jobs around the country on Americorps.gov and then logged out and went to sleep. I called my mom the next day and routinely told her about the jobs I applied for (This was an everyday thing). I mentioned the Naturalist Educator position at Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation (TMPF) and explained how it sounded like a cool opportunity that was up my alley, but… Reno? Being from the south and having never visited Nevada, I had only heard of Las Vegas… not Reno. Seemed like a random place for me. (Little did I know that it was a hidden gem.) 

A little while later, I got an email from Devin, the VP of Education at TMPF, requesting an interview with me. I did not think too much about it since it was a thirty-five-hour drive from home, but I thought, “Well, I will just do the interview and see how it goes.” The day came, and even though I knew it was a “phone interview”, I got all dressed up, just in case they wanted to FaceTime instead. Then, when I answered the phone, there were a couple more people on- Julia, the Camps and Youth Recreation Manager, and Deanna, the Curriculum Integration Coordinator. As the call went on, I could tell the relationship that the three coworkers had was family-like. It was more relaxed than I expected, and very personal. It did not feel like an interview, but more like some of my friends asking me interview questions. Because of this, I started to feel more and more comfortable and more interested in The Parks Foundation than I expected. As the call went on, I began to think, “Wow, I really hope I get this job.” As soon as the interview ended, I started jumping up and down and waving my arms in the air. I was so excited to tell my mom and my friends all about it. Then, I get a call. It was the individuals who interviewed me. They offered me the job. Tears overcame my eyes. I knew in that moment that this was the job for me and the path I needed to pursue.

After the interview, I graduated on December 13, 2024 from Mississippi State, packed fast, and followed my intuition to the beautiful city of Reno, Nevada. After a couple of days settling in, I started my first day at TMPF on January 5th, 2025. During my first week at work, I was surprised at the open-mindedness and uniqueness of the operation at TMPF. Just as I sensed during the interview, this is a place where everyone feels at home. There are people from all over the country with all different backgrounds who come to work and enjoy growing and learning together. In addition to that, I was shocked at the amount of flexibility and creativity that I could put into each project I took on. I was not used to being able to implement tactics that could improve my performance. Before TMPF, I was unaware that such a workplace existed. These pleasant surprises reassured me that this was the opportunity of a lifetime. 

Once the educators and I began leading classes in February, I jumped in and started my classroom journey. Before TMPF, I did not have experience teaching classes or speaking in front of large groups of kids. At first, I was very nervous. Now, in April, I have grown so much and refined my teaching skills. I am not nervous anymore, and I have gained more confidence to implement new teaching strategies and techniques. 

One education project that I have taken on, in particular, is creating content for kids who may not speak English or may only have a little English knowledge. I am currently working on Spanish glossaries for each module that we teach. In this project, I take key terms from our modules and translate them into Spanish for English learners. Once these are complete, we will be able to distribute them to the students based on need. This will help our program reach more populations, improve accessibility, and extend the content to more children.  I am very passionate about this project. My goal is that kids who receive these extra resources will feel more included and engaged. 

My supervisor, Isabella, and all of my coworkers have pushed me to extend my teaching knowledge and broaden my horizons. Through my journey with Americorps as a Naturalist Educator, I gained strength and courage. Every day, I can prove to myself that I am always growing and learning. Because of this, I am so thankful that my path led me to TMPF, where I can grow and learn in such an encouraging environment, while leaving a positive and lasting impact on the community. 

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About the Author:

Anna Sisson 

Naturalist Educator

Anna Sisson was raised on a small farm in Collierville, TN, where she developed a deep love for nature. She later attended Mississippi State University, graduating in December 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Environmental Conservation, concentrating on Natural Resource Law and Administration. During her time at Mississippi State, she studied abroad in San José, Costa Rica, for a summer, earning 16 credit hours and was able to release baby sea turtles into the ocean. For her undergraduate research project, she conducted a climate change simulation on the endangered Bluff Oak species. This project enabled her to write an article that will be published on the International Oak Society website in 2025. In her spare time, Anna enjoys cooking, journaling, dancing, and spending time with her cat, Starry.

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