Devin Cherry

While working as an interpretive ranger at Fossil Butte National Monument, I learned that I have a knack for simplifying complex subjects for a wide audience. After leaving the park service, I decided to pursue a career in education. The most rewarding aspects of teaching are the ability to excite the next generation of scientists and to pass on the knowledge I've gained through experience.

While coaching a Science Olympiad team, one of the events required the students to build a musical instrument. My students chose a guitar, which won first place. This also sparked a new hobby of building stringed instruments from repurposed materials, which I have been doing with my wife since we first started dating in 2019. In a way, teaching helped us build a strong foundation for our marriage.

The best geologist (or geology teacher) has seen the most rocks! With $25k, I would travel to places I haven't yet had the opportunity to collect rocks, minerals and fossils. I would use those, and some of the money, to expand the NWHS science museum project I have started. This money would also go towards my wife's goal of earning her Master of Social Work and starting a clinical practice.