Influential Woman · STEM

Stephanie Tyski

Admissions Office Manager, Paul Smith's College

Paul Smiths, NY

1Award received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Master's degree in Natural Resource Conservation with a focus in Sustainable Communities from Paul Smith's College Degree PhD in Environmental Studies (in progress) at Antioch University

Her Story

About Stephanie

I work in environmental education, specifically doing research on how video games can be used for environmental education. This is a relatively new field that started growing in popularity around 2020, which is when I really started to dive into that research. During the day, I teach students about environmental education and environmental history, but when I'm not doing that, I'm mostly doing research and connecting with other people within my field to try and promote the importance of including digital games and digital technology in classrooms and trying to promote digital literacy. I was inspired to get into this field during the 2020 lockdown when I became super interested in how people can get involved with nature and involved in the world, especially if they don't have access to it. I was thinking specifically about kids who are in inner cities who might not have the ability to go out in the forest or large forests, and all they have are the trees or small parks near them. I wanted to figure out how we can bring that education that we do outside indoors to those people and put it in a more accessible way for them. I'm a non-traditional learner myself - I'm very hands-on - and I've always been interested in video games and thought they were a lot of fun. In addition to my teaching and research, I'm also an esports coach, so I like working with my students and helping them improve their skills and compete against other schools.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Stephanie

01What do you attribute your success to?

I attribute my success to partially that determination, but also my family and friends that were there to support me. My husband was always right there assisting me, being my guinea pig and letting me test the games on him, and he was my cheerleader.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice I ever received was probably from my advisor, which is that while the topic that I'm doing or something that I'm interested in may seem a little far-fetched, and I might not always get support from everybody, there's always going to be somebody interested in it, and that shouldn't stop you from continuing your work.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

It can be a man's world, but the only way that will change is if we continue to push forward and work together and support each other.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I think funding is pretty difficult right now, finding people that want to back environmental work, especially with how things are politically, it's a little difficult right now. But at the same time, because it's such a newer field, specifically with using digital technology and environmental education, there are very niche sources out there that people can go to, but at the same time, it's such a growing field that you can get into it with almost anything, and you can help this field grow and help create a future for other people.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

Determination is most important to me. Sometimes, especially in today's world, it can be really hard to want to keep moving, especially when you hit roadblocks or your grant funding might be pulled, but just having the determination and grit to just keep on going and pulling through, because eventually you're going to get there.

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