Interns
Emily Feist
Emily Feist currently serves as an Americorps Member developing marketing and educational materials for the OHIO Museum Complex and manages a core research collection for Crane Hollow Nature Preserve. She is a recent graduate from Ohio University with an MS in Recreation Studies and Outdoor Education with certificates in Museum Studies and Environmental Interpretation. During her two year program she held a Graduate Teaching Assistantship for the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies teaching outdoor skills courses from backpacking to sea kayaking.
In 2016 she completed a BFA from Miami University in Graphic Design with a minor in Urban Design Architecture. In her time at Ohio University, she has combined her graphic design skills and value for outdoor education culminating in a collaborative effort with the Ohio Museum Complex.
She recently completed new signage for the Outdoor Museum that invites guests of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy and learn from their time at The Ridges. She is proud to be on the team dedicated to making the Ohio Museum Complex a welcoming place for diverse learning opportunities in the Southeast Ohio region.
Melissa Damico
Melissa Damico is a junior in the Honors Tutorial College, studying Environmental Studies, minoring in Sociology, and receiving a Certificate in Law, Justice, and Culture. In 2019 she helped found the Grey Green Alliance, a collaborative research and applied effort to increase the resilience of older adults to the impacts of climate change. She is also a Voinovich Undergraduate Research Scholar, a Stanford University Innovation Fellow, a member of the Experiential Learning Student Advisory Board and a 2020 Udall Scholar. She is excited to intern with the Ohio Museum Complex this semester and adapt resources of the Museum Complex to be accessible for people of all ages!
Adler Matey
Adler Matey is a junior studying environmental and plant biology. Adler is passionate about the science of plant growth, form, and development, and plans to work in plant ecology in a forest setting. He works with Dr. Kim Thomson the green roof project on top of Schoonover Hall, maintaining the instruments used to measure various elements that impact the study of the green roof. Adler develops educational outreach materials for the OMC, sharing the exciting intricacies of plant life and elucidating relationships between people and plants. He plans a career in outreach and education, sharing his excitement about the foundational role that plants play in our everyday lives.
Leah Myerholtz
Leah Myerholtz is a senior anthropology student, with a Museum Studies Certificate and a passion for human evolution. In 2019 Leah attend the Koobi Fora Field School and studied faunal abundance in the Lake Turkana Region in Northern Kenya. This year, she has developed a series of outdoor learning activities about nature and astronomy. In her last semester, she is excited to produce at-home activities for the OMC as well as enhance her technological design and 3D imagery skills.
Morgan Spehar
Morgan Spehar is student in the Honors Tutorial College, majoring in journalism and environmental studies with a minor in history. She is deeply passionate about environmental and science literacy, and has created curriculum for elementary media literacy, as well. Morgan is the founder of the Athens Effect, an online magazine that covers science, research, and technology at Ohio University, and she recently spent six months interning with NASA's Landsat satellite program on their communications team. Morgan hopes to engage people of all ages in science, wellness, and culture at the OMC, and wants to get people excited about going outside!