elijah vaughan

To narrow this bio down to one thing I think most readers would find interesting, it would be my career as a primitive-skills outdoor educator in western North Carolina (say that three times fast). Growing up, I spent two weeks every June at a summer camp with no running hot water, electricity, gas lines, or internet. Those experiences helped shape who I am and played a big role in fostering my love for nature.

In my mid-teens, I began volunteering and interning at the same camp I had grown up attending. Eventually, though, I parted ways with the administration after differences arose over my role and goals within the organization.

Now I work at Buffalo Cove Outdoor Education Center, where I do much of the same work—but with a few humble luxuries, like hot showers instead of a creek and paychecks instead of “reimbursement in experience.” Summer after summer, the months I spend working there are always the highlight of my year. I find so much fulfillment in educating the next generation that, even when I go weeks without contacting the outside world, it hardly feels like work.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford to be an outdoor educator forever, even though I’m passionate about it, but the skills I’ve gained and the memories I’ve made will stay with me for the rest of my life.