You’ll remember back in March we were searching for an Equity Project Manager to fill a new role at OBCA. Here’s a Q&A to get to know Nat Shyu (she/her) 徐婷星
What is the vision for your role? There are a few projects so far, but a big foundational piece of what I’m doing is centered in creating more resources and pathways for the greater OBCA community. I’m often thinking about how we can have more community across different OB bases and across all departments and positions. We want there to be a higher level of connectivity and accountability towards each other. Sometimes there can be a “buzziness” or a level of performativity with DEI work, and we don’t want our DEI initiatives to feel like completely separate work. I personally hope that values of access and inclusion are interwoven into all we do.
What was your pathway into outdoor education? While in undergrad I learned the field of outdoor education existed, and though there wasn’t a formal path at my university, I worked as a naturalist and outdoor educator during the summers, and followed the professors who utilized experiential teaching styles.After graduating, I wanted to seek out a program that focused on serving youth that held more non-dominant or historically marginalized identities, and programs working to create more financial access to these longer-format expedition programs. In my search, I found the FINS (Families in Need of Services) program, which at the time was part of NCOBS (North Carolina Outward Bound). This program was free of charge to more vulnerable populations of students and families who were struggling with communication or connection at home. I started there in 2017 as an apprentice, and then spent the next three years primarily in the instructor role. The program no longer exists anymore. It was a very important part of my life, and there’s a lot of grief still in the community from its closing.”After the FINS program, Nat stayed in outdoor ed, working at Outward Bound, and other outdoor programs. She quit her full time job in 2021, moved out west, and a last minute High Sierra role for a lead instructor came up. Nat thought she would “comet” – meaning come through, burn hard and fast as a shiny bright thing and then leave. But she fell in love with the community. Nat has been at OBCA since then training, course directing, instructing and now she’s the Equity Program Manager.
What’s your ideal day off working the High Sierra? Wake up, and cuddle my cat Ponzu. Go to Stick’s and get an iced matcha. Drive into Yosemite Valley and go cragging (hanging out at an outdoor climbing spot) with a group of friends and lots of snacks. Top snacks: dried mango, lots of chips, bags and bags of chips, like a chip buffet. After that, we’ll go to the village store and get a cold beverage like coconut water or a kombucha and drink it by the river, but I’m not going in because I can’t tolerate cold water. Afterwards, I’ll get back to base and make dumplings with Erika.
So Ponzu is your cat? Yes, well he is truly a community cat, but I’m the primary financial parent of Ponzu.
