MICHAEL CASALE
Core Educator
What is your favorite part to your job?
What I enjoy about my job as an educator for SNJ is that over the course of a school year I have the opportunity to interact with a wide range of students and school communities. Building a rapport with students from diverse backgrounds and providing them with unique and meaningful learning experiences in a natural outdoor environment is the most rewarding part of my job.
Why did you decide to become an educator?
I was inspired to become a teacher because of the educational experiences that I had growing up, both in traditional and informal settings. From my 5th grade teacher to my athletics coaches, camp counselors, and ski instructors, I always admired those people who had a passion for educating others.
What do like to do in your free time?
I spend most of my free time in the outdoors exploring the nearby trails on my mountain bike and playing golf at the local courses in the summer. In the winter time I downhill ski as many days as I can at the Tahoe area resorts and surrounding backcountry.
Tell us a fact about yourself that most people wouldn’t know.
One fact that most people probably don’t know about me is that I am a huge music lover! I listen to many different types of music and have been to over 200 live music events.
Michael Casale: CORE Educator
Michael grew up in North Central Pennsylvania and migrated west to Missoula, Montana to attend college. After graduating with a BS in Sociology he moved to Meyers, CA and coached a junior competitive ski team at Kirkwood Mountain Resort where he discovered a passion for educating school-aged youth. When not coaching skiing, Michael spent summers working for the California Tahoe Conservancy as a crew leader on environmental restoration projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin. In 2013 Michael enrolled in the Teacher Education Program at Sierra Nevada College where he earned a K-8 teaching credential and his currently working on a Master of Arts in Teaching. When Michael is not facilitating SNJ’s outdoor science curriculum, he can be found on the numerous mountain biking trails and ski slopes around the Reno and Tahoe area.