I have been a skier since I was 6 years old, and my passion for this sport got me to many wonderful places and also taught me many valuable lessons. It was skiing that brought me to SNC Tahoe, after I was not able to be part of my Slovenian National Team.
This school and the SNC team opened up my perspective that the world offered more than just skiing. I also love adventures outside in nature with my friends, and by doing that I always see and learn something new.
Since I was a little girl my parents exposed me to nature, and as a family we went on many outdoor adventures. But as I was growing up I started noticing changes in our environment. I became more and more aware that we are not efficient with natural resource exploitation.
Thus, I decided to major in Natural Resource Management. If I have a chance to protect our natural resources, that would make me feel that I did something good and valuable for our society. I am also studying a minor in Global Business Management, because developed countries are having the biggest impact on the environment but people in developing countries will be the first ones to suffer.
My internship is at Mountain Area Preservation (MAP), where I’m helping with the organization of two events. For the Wild & Scenic Film Festival I am the recycle/green event coordinator. That means I need to find a strategy to create a zero waste festival. For the Trout Creek Park Earth Day Stewardship Project, my job is to recruit 30-40 volunteers to help clean up areas along Trout Creek and the Truckee River. We want to involve people on Earth day to contribute to our environment.
I’m working on my senior project, which is about measuring the snow melt at different elevations in the Incline Watershed. When I have my data I’ll use GIS to map the snow lines during the winter. Also, I’m a math tutor to help other students. And I’m training to help my team win another National Title!
Skiing taught me to push myself to the limit for myself, to get better and not just because of coaches.
This does not apply just to skiing, but also in school, work and real life. Overall I have had to face a lot of ups and downs, thus today I’m a strong person and ready for challenges. There is so many things I would like to do in the future. Whatever I will chose, my inspiration is that I will do something for myself that will make our society better. One day I hope my children and others will be able to get the same experiences outside in nature as I did.