My name Amanda McCann and I work in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State University as the ENR Scholars and Study Abroad Advisor. I recently completed the Higher Education and Student Affairs Master’s program at Ohio State. While this is my first year with SENR, it is my third year as a staff member at Ohio State. Prior to working with ENR Scholars, I worked with Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services at Ohio State. I’ve also spent time worked as a sales representative for solar electronic interconnects and as a Community Outreach and Development coordinator for a grassroots, community health center. I received a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State in 2009 with a major in Film Studies and a minor in Spanish. My path to this position has been winding with many branching roads along the way, but I feel excited and fortunate to work with such fantastic students, staff, and faculty.
I am passionate about travel–I enjoy both grandiose, international excursions and small, intimate trips to a place that is new to me. During my graduate program, I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Ecuador for one month. I learned a great deal about service-learning, community partnerships, holistic education, and myself. I hope that in my time with the School of Environment and Natural Resources I can reduce the barriers to access that some of our students encounter. In my own personal experience as a low-income, first-generation student, I thought Study Abroad was inaccessible and intimidating. I hope that I can increase accessibility during my time with SENR and Ohio State.
I also love to cook! One of my favorite self-care techniques is cooking delicious meals with good ingredients and sharing them with the ones I love. In addition to my love of travel and cooking (and eating), I am avid consumer of film, music, and video games. I grew up loving foreign films because they offered a glimpse into environments and cultures I thought I would never encounter first hand. I have always had a deep appreciation of the power of music–I am fascinated by the emotion it can elicit in others…and I am jealous, as I am unable to carry a tune. Video games are my favorite media as they allow an active means of engaging in diverse narratives. I am particularly drawn to indie games that story-driven and my platform of choice is PC. Lastly, I’m a hardcore cat lover.