Frank Rajkowski
March 18, 2026 • 4 min read
Growing up in Rochester, Cassidy Tschida was often part of fields trips to the Quarry Hill Nature Center – exploring the park’s hiking trails, man-made cave and other exhibits and displays.
The staff members who guided Tschida and her fellow students on those excursions made a real impact on her.
“Those were the people I looked up to,” said Tschida, now a sophomore at the College of Saint Benedict. “I thought it would be so cool to be the person working with young kids, helping them explore and learn more about nature.
“They seemed so lucky to have the chance to do that every day. It’s what I wanted to do too.”
As a student naturalist with Outdoor U, Tschida is now getting her chance.
The on-campus organization provides environmental and outdoor education through classes, events and initiatives in the Saint John’s Abbey Arboretum and elsewhere at CSB and SJU.
That includes hosting school field trips, providing summer camp experiences and offering outdoor education and recreational opportunities to elementary, high school and CSB and SJU students and adults as well.
“I get the chance to lead small groups and direct students through different activities,” said Tschida, an environmental studies major who hopes to one day pursue a career as a naturalist at a nature center, state park or similar setting.
“We have second-grade insect field trips where I demonstrate how to sweep up bugs and put them in a jar, or I get to be an extra set of hands when we have a large group of rowdy first graders who need help getting their wiggles out. It’s so much fun to see the development from when kids first arrive for a field trip and want nothing to do with bugs or the outdoors to the end when they’re asking to hold a spider. I really enjoy being able to help cultivate that.
“Sometimes I do see myself in them,” she continued. “It’s still hard for me to believe I’m now the cool older person leading the group.”
Developing such career skills is a big part of the Outdoor U experience. The organization employs a staff of around 45 students, working as naturalists, student land managers in the arboretum, at the indoor climbing wall in SJU’s Warner Palaestra and as part of its Outdoor Leadership Center.
“One of the curricular goals of our program is that when student staff members leave their position with us, they’ll be able to articulate the things they’ve learned and the skills they’ve gained when talking with future employers,” Outdoor U outdoor education program manager Sierra Hietala said.
Achieving that goal was the impetus behind Outdoor U’s first Student Development Night held on Feb. 25. The event brought the organization’s student staff together with staff members from both Outdoor U and Experience and Professional Development (XPD), as well as 10 Outdoor U alums now working in the field.
The event featured an alum panel, dinner, student awards and mock job interviews.
“That was great practice,” said Tschida, who received Outdoor U’s Live Courageously award at the event. “We partnered up and interviewed with alumni and staff. It was a chance to hone our interview skills in a low-pressure environment.
“If we messed up, we weren’t going to face the consequences as opposed to how it would go in a real job interview.”
Tschida added it was inspirational to hear Outdoor U alum success stories.
“They’re so approachable and you can take away a lot from talking with them,” she said. “They were here once, and it’s really cool they take the time to come back and do what they can to help the next group.
“We want to get to where they’re at now.”
Through her work at Outdoor U, Tschida already has a sizable head start.
“Sometimes it’s still hard to believe I’m already getting the chance to work as a naturalist in a setting like this with all it has to offer,” she said. “I started at Outdoor U when I was a freshman, so I hadn’t even been in college for over a year and I was already getting hands-on experience in the field.
