My name is Jon Hooyman and my life has been a myriad of experiences.  I got to lead soldiers, survive nights that got to -40°F, and jump (and sometimes tumble) out of airplanes and helicopters as a US Army logistics officer and paratrooper stationed up in Anchorage, Alaska, learned the value of teaching stories and myths while getting a Master’s of Education with a focus on English, spent time teaching in various high schools ranging from tiny schools in Illinois farming communities to classrooms in the deserts of Navajo Nation to schools all over the Chicago area, got to split my time between laboratories and fieldwork while completing a Master’s in Ecology, worked in the wetlands of the US Fish and Wildlife Chautauqua Wildlife Refuge, handled pythons and hissing cockroaches as a Nature Center Director at a nature center in the Wisconsin Northwoods, and now work at Shedd Aquarium where I am developing and teaching Aquatic Science curriculum.  I’ve lived some of my dreams, stumbled reaching for others, but had a blast the whole time.

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Along the way, I learned the power of understanding and mapping values when stepping towards a new goal and vision, learned how to connect students with their values through understanding the stories that they love, practiced breaking down complex goals into simple steps, honed the art and skill of backwards planning, and found out the best way to pick myself up after I stumbled.

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More important than my past, I have a vision for my future.  Along with being the best instructor that I can be for this course, I want to be a writer, a storyteller, and a caretaker of nature.  Just as I teach in my course, I’m continuously reviewing and defining my values and working my way to make a better vision of myself a reality.