ALUMNI PROFILE Keifer Nace
High School Class of 2015 BA, Geology and Environmental Studies, Whitman College, 2019
HEALING THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH TEACHING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT What and how was your academic experience after leaving Waldorf, both personally and academically? After Waldorf, I attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, majoring in geology and environmental studies. I think my diverse Waldorf education inspired me to choose this major because it is an interdisciplinary field. My class subjects ranged widely, combining geology, chemistry, calculus, and computer science with environmental writing, history, sociology, and politics. Waldorf gave me a love for learning, and it prepared me extremely well in writing, Spanish, creative thinking, and communication.
How did you choose your current occupation? For two summers in college I had the opportunity to work in geology research, with one project turning into my senior honors thesis. During the summer of 2017, I worked at Western Washington University for the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates. For this project, I researched the forest fire history of three different landslide-dammed lakes in the Oregon Coast Range. In the summer of 2018, I worked with the Keck Geology Consortium for a project on paleoclimatology. This research became my thesis, focusing on the impacts of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (a climate change event which occurred 56 million years ago and is considered our best proxy for today’s climate change) on plant and river systems.
“WALDORF TAUGHT ME TO BE CURIOUS AND IT MADE ME UNAFRAID TO TRY NEW AND DIFFICULT THINGS. ”
After graduating from college, I wanted to explore while also using my degree. The Peace Corps became a very fitting opportunity, and I remembered hearing many incredible stories from mentors and peers of mine about their service, including [SFWS High School Math and Physical Sciences Teacher] Mr. Burritt. I ended up applying to serve in Mexico as an environmental educator, which perfectly matched my interests in wanting to work for the environment as well as wanting to improve my Spanish, all while having the opportunity to intimately learn about Mexican culture. I started in August, 2019, but unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the Peace Corps suspended all programs worldwide and I was abruptly evacuated from Mexico on March 17. I am currently weighing my options for my future occupation, whether that will be going to graduate school or working for the environment in the private or public sector.
Looking back, how does your Waldorf education benefit your life today? I am extremely grateful for my Waldorf education, and I truly believe I would not be the same person I am today had I not attended Waldorf. Waldorf taught me to be curious, and it made me unafraid to try new and difficult things. Being challenged to create main lesson books, to carve wooden stools, to sew dolls, to read Faust or Walden, to write poetry, to play the saxophone, to backpack in the desert wilderness, or to complete a senior project exposed me to so many different ways of thinking and moving in this world, which are invaluable to my life today.
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Nace (center) with her counterparts and Peace Corps managers in Totolac, Mexico
Please describe your daily life. Due to COVID-19 and my evacuation, I have been staying home and practicing
