Member Spotlight: Mitch
Date postedAugust 29, 2024
Meet Mitch Steffey!
Mitch (he/him/his) grew up in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania (Ligonier, PA) and is now based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, USA. Mitch is the Associate Director of Service Learning and Community Engagement at the Chaminade University of Honolulu.Tell us a bit about what you do at your organization.
Chaminade University of Honolulu is a small Catholic (Marianist) institution of Higher Education located in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.
Most days I lead program development, implementation, and assessment for service learning and community engagement programs. This can include management of the campus garden, facilitation of K-12 mentorship programs, creating space for programs devote to the preservation of Native Hawaiian Culture, and much more. We work with 80+ community partners on our island and believe in relationships as the foundation of our mission and vision.
The mission of the Office of Service Learning and Community Engagement is to empower students to define and deepen their classroom learning experience through impactful need-based community engagement rooted in Marianist and Native Hawaiian values.
Our vision is to foster a collective sense of place through investment in community partnerships, service learning process and pedagogy, and a commitment to serving others. We envision a campus culture that embraces service and service learning as a valuable community-focused vehicle toward personal growth.
Most days I lead program development, implementation, and assessment for service learning and community engagement programs. This can include management of the campus garden, facilitation of K-12 mentorship programs, creating space for programs devote to the preservation of Native Hawaiian Culture, and much more. We work with 80+ community partners on our island and believe in relationships as the foundation of our mission and vision.
The mission of the Office of Service Learning and Community Engagement is to empower students to define and deepen their classroom learning experience through impactful need-based community engagement rooted in Marianist and Native Hawaiian values.
Our vision is to foster a collective sense of place through investment in community partnerships, service learning process and pedagogy, and a commitment to serving others. We envision a campus culture that embraces service and service learning as a valuable community-focused vehicle toward personal growth.
Tell us more about yourself!
I am the Grandson of John, Pauline, Lacy and Grady. I am the 4th child of Gary and Linda. I grew up in small town in Appalachia beside the Loyalhanna Creek, Mill Run, and Linn Run waterways and apart of the Laurel Highland mountains. I am grateful to so many human and nonhuman beings for a joyous childhood.
Fast forward a bit, I attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo where I graduated with a B.A. in History and a deeper connection to the natural spaces. Since then I have earned an M.A. in Student Affairs in Higher Education and have spent the last 10+ years leading experiential programs with college students. Most of those programs were here in Hawaiʻi, but also in Pennsylvania, Vermont, and New Hampshire. I am actively in love with my wife Megan of 9+ years and constantly inspired by her work as the ʻĀina Education Teacher (nature science with a cultural perspective) at a local elementary school. Together we live in a self-built tiny home with our 10 pound dachshund named Mauka.
I am deeply committed to what sustainability and experiential education can do for all of us (human and nonhuman) in our search for harmony and happiness.
Fast forward a bit, I attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo where I graduated with a B.A. in History and a deeper connection to the natural spaces. Since then I have earned an M.A. in Student Affairs in Higher Education and have spent the last 10+ years leading experiential programs with college students. Most of those programs were here in Hawaiʻi, but also in Pennsylvania, Vermont, and New Hampshire. I am actively in love with my wife Megan of 9+ years and constantly inspired by her work as the ʻĀina Education Teacher (nature science with a cultural perspective) at a local elementary school. Together we live in a self-built tiny home with our 10 pound dachshund named Mauka.
I am deeply committed to what sustainability and experiential education can do for all of us (human and nonhuman) in our search for harmony and happiness.
What excites you when you think about the future of Experiential Education?
Its potential to inspire without screens.
Who or what inspires you?
My wife, my family, my peers, my students, my environment. To name a few more well known - Ecosystems, Indigenous resiliance, Sustainable thinkers, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Manulani Aluli Meyer, Rachel Carson, Walter Ritte, Denise Mitten, Brent Bell, Scott Ramsey, so many more.
In your free time, we can probably find you:
Dreaming
How long have you been involved with AEE?
I first attended an AEE Regional conference in 2016. At the time I was running a small outdoor program at a college in New Hampshire, so I thought it would be best for me to connect with those of similar interest/work.
What is the most rewarding part about being a Member of AEE?
The relationships and the inspiration that comes from them.
Any specific AEE memories you'd like to share?
2017 AEE Regional Conference in Durango, CO. I played a game similar to Zip, Zap, Zoom in a session and Denise Mitten and I both won. She wonʻt remember it, but was so inspired by her even after a short interaction. What a legend!
Find Mitch here: mitchsteffey@gmail.com or on LinkedIn
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