This site was created to provide insight about myself, as both a person and a professional.  With this information, I can give you a better understanding of my goals and aspirations.

    My name is Stephanie Lynn Keevil, and I am a senior at Ball State University in Muncie, IN.  Knowing that the rest of my life is going to start in a few short months is exciting, but stressful.  I know I have attained many skills and life lessons in the four short years I have been here. Everything before provided me with the tools and the incentives to be where I am now.

    My family and I live on the near east side of Indianapolis.  I lived with my two parents, my three sisters, my brother, and the dog. Eventually, I entered high school, something everyone does, but I went to a school like none other.  I attended Arsenal Technical High School, a school well known for its campus setting, college-like format, and vocational programs.  While there, I tried to do a little of everything in hopes of finding myself.  I was in nearly every dramatic and musical production possible.  I was a member, and sometimes captain, of five academic teams, including Brain Game and Model United Nations.  In my "spare time" I was also a girl scout, and assisted with two younger troops.

    An unexpected thing happened during the summer before my senior year, I found what I had been looking for in the oddest of places.  I was working on my project for the Girl Scout Gold Award.  To get this award one must complete a project consisting of at least fifty hours of work.  I decided to do a series of programs at a visitors' center at Hardin Ridge, a part of Hoosier National Forest.  While doing these programs, I had the opportunity to meet and speak with a number of the employees there.  That's when it hit me, this was what I wanted to do.  I wanted to be the person to lead hikes, meet people, teach children about nature and work outside.  I started applying to different colleges with programs for just that.  I graduated June of 1998 and started college in the fall as a Natural Resources major in the Interpretive Naturalist Sequence.  

    After that summer, I worked at Belzer Cub Scout Camp the following two summers, so that I could work outside. I loved every minute of it.  I met a lot of people from varied scouting backgrounds and learned all about the opportunities available through scouting.  The most important thing I learned there, though, was patience.  

    During my sophomore year of college, I was looking for an internship setting, to get a better feel for what I would actually be doing in the real world.  With the help of a PhD student in the Biology department, I got an internship at Kirkmont Center in Zanesfield, OH as a naturalist.  Kirkmont is run by the Presbyterian Church.  It is used for numerous church camps as well as an outdoor education center.   I learned a great deal in those three months. I had to learn to do everything from identifying trees to handling meal worms to spotting challenge course activities to teaching lessons from Project Wild.   It was a fantastic experience that I treasure and it only made me more sure of what I want to do.

    After having worked for a privately run camp and a not-for-profit organization, I decided to work for a city run facility, so I became part of the Camp Fun Daze program in Westerville, OH, as a camp counselor.  I was amazed at the vast differences in the systems.

    The first big project since my Girl Scout days was an Alternative Resources Interdisciplinary Unit for middle school aged children.  With the help of an advisor, I was able to create something pertaining to my field that genuinely interested me.  I had a lot of fun and  was able to incorporate a number of different subjects into a scientific area of study.  Having the freedom to create something of that nature assured me of my ability to do well in this field.

    On the other hand, this past semester I also had the stress, enjoyment, and eye opening experience of taking a Wildlife Biology class.  I  learned about the structured and varied responsibilities required of someone in my field.  At the beginning of the semester we did a small mammal trapping exercise, where we got first hand experience handling moles, voles, mice, and even a few opossums, both dead and alive.   I also had the opportunity to spend a Saturday at a deer check station with a DNR employee.  Besides learning about hunting and the rules associated with it, my fellow classmates and I participated in data collection for an ongoing deer tick study.  For this same class, I also put together  a biological assessment of a wooded property owned by the university, focusing on Cooper's Hawks.  Overall, this class improved my research skills as well as personal communication abilities.  It was an experience I will carry with me wherever I go. 

    My chosen field is a never ending series of lessons about nature and how its all intermingled.  I know I have the tools to do well, to teach others, and to continue to learn.  Ball State has given me a foundation of knowledge, and I have a drive to excel.  With this in mind, I will do what I can to make a difference in the world in any path I take.

     Should you want more information, please feel free to email me.