Author: Megan West
This spring, Krystal Brown (Biology ‘17) learned she would receive the 2024 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As one of only nine educators in the entire country to receive the award, it’s a big deal. She was presented with the award at a Colorado Rapids game in April and then again at the Gunnison Fire Station in June. Finally, she received the award one last time in Washington, D.C., on August 1. Reporters lined up for interviews (us included). And through it all, she found the experience “very humbling.” Now, as a proud Western alumnus and an award-winning science teacher at Gunnison High School, she remains focused on giving back.
Growing up in southwestern Colorado, Krystal spent a lot of time outside identifying plants and animals with her dad. Her love for the natural world eventually led to her study biology at Western. But her passion for teaching came from an opportunity to work at Colorado Fire Camp, where she taught wilderness first aid to veterans. It was there that Krystal discovered just how much she loved blowing another person’s ember of interest into flame and feeding their curiosities. She then parlayed the joy she experienced at Fire Camp into a teaching position at Gunnison High School, where her impactful work earned her recognition from the EPA.
“Western has provided all those opportunities. I did a Forest Service internship, lynx tracking, watching for sage grouse, working full time in EMS, and getting on the fire department my first year up here,” she said. “This is where I got to dabble in all the things I always liked.”
We sat down with Krystal to learn why her time at Western was so integral to helping her become the educator and person she is today.
MW: How did you discover Western?
KB: There is a bit of a family history there. My mom and her two sisters all came to Western. I think they started before the dam was built at Blue Mesa, or at least some older siblings did. They all graduated from Western with degrees in business, accounting, and teaching. I followed suit, and my sister was up here, too. It is a family affair. One of my now-uncles was a professor at Western, too.
MW: Can you describe Western in three words?
KB: Small-town vibes, outdoors, and enriching.
MW: What is your fondest memory of Western?
KB: Doing all the Waunita watchable wildlife tours. One of my best friends, Cassie Krzeczowski, and I would get up at three or four in the morning and take tour groups to Waunita to watch the wildlife and sage grouse. It was such a bizarre experience because it’s such a quirky little bird. I think a lot of times, it’s like a unicorn, but, in this case, it is real. Even though people know it exists, they have never seen it and wonder if it is real. It was always so exciting.
The other piece I would have to add is that, at Western, I could be a student in the fire department. It was so cool to actually integrate into the community. You are learning to balance class and work, and professors make sure it’s OK. I remember one time there was a four-wheeler that was burning up some county road, and I was in the middle of a test. I ignored my [pager], and my professor looked at me and asked, “What are you doing? If that were my four-wheeler, I would want you to go!” It was so great to have that support.
MW: Are you still involved with the fire department?
KB: I am. I stepped away for a couple of years. COVID and my dad and teaching and coaching. My life got a little intense there for a little bit. But I recently got involved again. The fire department has allowed me to connect to many resources in the Valley and enriched my classroom experience. It is what you do in a small town; you wear many hats.
Everybody has their skill sets, and I think most of us have diverse skill sets. We only live once, so we should use our skills, and that might not be in just one place. It helps me to feel fully alive to use all those different parts of me and develop all my interests. I am constantly amazed by what I can do and what others can do.
MW: Who influenced you the most during your time at Western?
KB: My family was a big influence in not just giving me direction but also instilling values and how I want to show up in the world. And then Pat McGee was also a huge influence. He showed up to class with great enthusiasm. He was always motivational and encouraged you to lean in and have fun.
And then I’d say the fire department. A few chiefs – Dennis Spritzer and Hugo Ferchau – were huge influences and showed me I could do anything I set my mind to. Tom McDonough is in there, too. You could tell they were proud and were not afraid to give praise where necessary, but they also held me accountable for doing better.
Toward the end of my time at Western, my dad had a stroke. I had a full-ride scholarship by piecing all the scholarships I received together, but when he had the stroke, it was early enough in the semester that I lost all my scholarships, and it was really tough. I remember Corey Woytek, one of my lecturers, went to bat to either save my scholarships or mark me incomplete so I could pick up the next year, but it was too early in the semester to do this. It meant a lot to me that she explored every angle and every avenue, even though we kept coming up short.
MW: What is your favorite Western tradition?
KB: I don’t know if this is a tradition, but I still really enjoy sledding the Green Monster.
MW: Can you tell us a little bit about what you’re doing now?
KB: I teach high school science. I just finished my fifth year at Gunnison High School. It is pretty competitive to get in, so, basically, from when I graduated to just five years ago, I was trying to figure out how to get a job teaching in Gunnison. Now, I teach science as a team of three teachers in the science department. I teach environmental science, urban space science, biology, and freshman physical science. I have everyone from seniors down to freshmen, and I enjoy each age group. They are all fun.
I collaborate with my cohorts a lot because our areas of study overlap, but environmental science and urban space science are my babies, my projects, which were recently highlighted by the EPA award.
MW: Can you tell us a little bit about your award?
KB: Yes. I was recently awarded the EPA’s Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators. The award recognizes educators from different EPA regions for innovative environmental education.
When I started teaching, I was contacted about this grant opportunity on the Friday before school started. Someone mentioned my name, and I was actually contacted by someone from Western. I was told about this EPA-funded project out of [Arizona State University] called Scape that is all about place-based learning with the Telluride Institute. I got ahold of Dan Collins, who has a place in Telluride and is an art professor at ASU but has been developing and spearheading this curriculum for place-based learning and watersheds. I accepted a $5,000 grant on the spot the Friday before classes started, so I had a week to prepare and think about what I was doing. It was perfect timing to start the semester with the project because we could get the students out and do water sampling, including water chemistry stream flow analysis, macroinvertebrates, and riparian transect data. The grant processing would take some time, so the grantors sent me all of the supplies out of their own funds, which was super awesome. I’m now in the sixth year of collecting data in the same spot on Tomichi Creek.
MW: What’s next for you?
KB: Well, my dad just passed away. It was an eight-and-a-half-year journey. One thing my dad taught me was how to sail, so after he passed, I decided to buy a 27-foot sailboat. I think after teaching this year, I will try to go down to the Gulf for the summer to live on the sailboat. Eventually, I want to get my master’s degree.
