Biographical Info
In the blink of an eye, the little girl with snails in her pockets and dirt in her hair went from running through the creeks behind her childhood home to walking across the Oklahoma State University stage to receive a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources with a major of Environmental Science.
However, Lauren’s adventure truly began after moving across the country to gain experience in conservation just an hour south of the iconic Glacier National Park, after accepting a position as a Big Sky Watershed Corps Member through Americorps. This position combined a deep devotion for service with a passion for the conservation of our natural resources. During her time in this position, she completed research for the USDA, NRCS, Western Montana Conservation Districts, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, Flathead Lake Biological Station, The University of Montana and NASA. Research topics varied wildly but mainly focused on native wildflower biodiversity and pollinator habitat rehabilitation, aquatic invasive species PCR tracking, and the study of agricultural upgrades to determine improvement of resource usage.
What really made an impact on the direction of Lauren’s career was the development of Lake County Conservation District’s outreach program which delivered STEAM curriculum to 3,641 students and adults in 2.5 years. After Lauren moved home during the Pandemic, she began pursuing a career in STEAM education thanks to her time at LCCD. After beginning her educational career at Discovery Lab creating curriculum, training educators, and running day of programming for their partnership with Tulsa Public Schools, Lauren is excited to transition into the classroom fulltime teaching Environmental Science and Chemistry. She is passionate about sparking a love of natural resources and applied science in her students just as her high school Enivronmental Science teacher did for her.
When Lauren isn’t at work she enjoys hiking, camping, taking pictures of every flower and fungi she sees, finding cool rocks and crystals, practicing yoga and meditation, and being outdoors in general. When the weather doesn’t allow her to be outside, Lauren also loves watching competition shows with her husband, Tyler, and making bets on the winners (loser has to clean up dinner!) Their pup Daisy is never far behind, especially to “help” clean up the food.
Email: lranthe@tsas.org
Room: 218
Pronouns: She/Their
Educational Background:
- Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science and Natural Resources with a major in Environmental Sciences from Oklahoma State University