Every morning, Kamryn You Mak’s walk to The Bay School doubled as a lesson in ecology. Passing through the Presidio on her way to class, she began to see how deeply people and places are intertwined.

“Growing up in San Francisco and walking through the Presidio every day shaped how I see land and community,” she says. “It made me care for the place I was part of.”

That relationship with place has become the heart of Kamryn’s work. As an environmental educator and park ranger at the Grand Canyon, she helped young people connect to the land through outdoor learning and environmental justice. Now in her role as a fellow with Alaska Youth for Environmental Action, she mentors teens as they create local projects, practice advocacy, and learn how to make change in their own communities.

At Bay, Kamryn discovered that learning happens best when it’s lived, not lectured. Whether restoring native habitats, debating social movements, or solving problems on whiteboard tables, she developed a mindset grounded in curiosity, reciprocity, and care. “Bay taught us to show up for one another,” she says. “That’s what makes a community thrive—when everyone gives and receives.”