Susan Flowers

Tyson Education and Outreach Coordinator

“I think on the front end of my career path, I never would’ve thought of being the education person at a field station as the job I was going towards. But in the end, that ended up being the job that fit me best.”

Susan’s role at Tyson is the culmination of many years specializing in science education and outreach at WashU. In 2008, she established the SIFT and TERA programs, immersive environmental research experiences for high school students. Along with revamping the Tyson undergraduate fellowship program, her work has created a three-stage pathway for aspiring ecologists to not only learn about the science, but also cultivate their own mentoring skills, goals, and clear paths for the future.

“We need people to actually get to try on being an environmental biologist and understand what that means. Because you don’t know what that is until you try to do it. It’s not a career that just jumps out in front of you the way a doctor or a lawyer or some other kind of high-powered career path does. I really do think of the Tyson community as being this supportive place that makes the path super obvious. We shouldn’t be gatekeepers keeping people out. We should be bringing people in.”

Susan’s service spans to organizations across St. Louis and Missouri where she has contributed to numerous efforts improving environmental education in K12 schools. But just at Tyson, the pathway she’s created for young people has already proven its value.

“The cool thing is that it’s working. We know that we’ve been changing some minds. We know that some of our alums are going on to become researchers or land managers. I think we can claim some degree of success beyond just providing an authentic experience for them. In helping them try on the job, we’re actually succeeding in sending some people along the path. So we actually are fostering the next generation.”

Susan supports all of the students and research teams at Tyson during the summer. Learn more about all of the Tyson education programs here.