Student Representatives
As part of COEO’s continuing efforts to support future and emerging professionals in the field of Outdoor Education, the volunteer position of Student Representative has been established at a number of colleges and universities throughout Ontario. The Student Representative will act as a liaison between COEO and the students in their program, department and/or school. This individual is responsible for sharing COEO related news and information, along with promoting COEO’s line-up of annual events. Through this initiative, the COEO Board of Directors aims to further meet its organizational goals by connecting with the next generation of OE professionals in Ontario. COEO’s Volunteer Coordinator will act as the primary contact person for each Student Representative.
Individuals interested in being considered for the one-year term of Student Representative can reach out to COEO at info@coeo.org.
Meet the 2024-2025 Student Representatives!
OISE, Noah Spitzer
I grew up in Ottawa before moving to Toronto in 2008 to attend the Theatre: Performance Acting program at Toronto Metropolitan University. During my studies, I worked for Brightspark as a tour leader for over 4 years, taking students and their teachers on overnight educational trips to various cities in North America.
After graduating, I worked as a professional actor and resident artist-educator at Young People’s Theatre, where I taught drama workshops in schools and performed in plays including To Kill a Mockingbird and Hana’s Suitcase. Since 2019, I’ve worked for the world’s largest active travel company, Backroads, leading cycling, hiking, and multi-adventure tours all over the world (including in Normandy, the Pyrenees, Belize, Costa Rica, and the Canadian Rockies). I’ve achieved my Professional Interpreter designation with the Interpretive Guides’ Association, the only Parks Canada-affiliated organization permitting hiking guides to lead commercial groups in Banff National Park. In addition to trip leading, I hire, train, and mentor new trip leaders.
I’m currently in my first year of the Master of Teaching program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto (U of T). I found COEO when I requested a practicum placement in Outdoor Education and was lucky enough to be placed at the Toronto Urban Studies Centre (TUSC), part of the Toronto Outdoor Education Schools (TOES), housed in the TDSB (that’s a lot of acronyms)! I’m focusing my research on risk perceptions among outdoor educators, which has been a fascinating subject. I’m looking forward to increasing awareness of COEO at U of T and inviting more future educators to incorporate outdoor ed into their teaching practice.
Trent University, Anissah Rajpatee
Anissah (she/her) is currently a graduate student in the Master of Arts in Indigenous & Canadian Studies at Trent University in Peterborough. With an undergraduate degree in Indigenous Studies and Teacher Education and now with a thesis in the works, Anissah has embarked on a journey of research involving environmental education, pedagogy, and land-based learning while residing as a settler on Michi Saggiig Nishnaabeg territory which is part of the William Treaties territory.
From an early age she has always been fascinated by the natural world. She has spent nearly every summer ofher entire life camping in Parry Sound with her family where she was able to nurture her visceral love for the land through fishing and canoeing. Since the age of 6, Anissah has spent several weeks throughout summer at an all-girls summer camp where she continued to grow interconnectedly with the land and waters of Georgian Bay (Mnidoo Gamii). Anissah spent some time on the beautiful salty shores of the Pacific Ocean in Átl’ka7tsem (Howe Sound) in British Columbia where she was fortunate to be part of the Sea to Sky Outdoor School team for a season. She got a glimpse into the world of outdoor education and fell in love with calling the cedar forest and rocky beaches her classroom.
These experiences have inspired Anissah to seek out ways in which these land-based relationships can be sparked with students of all ages. Her current research is focused on reimagining environmental education through a lens of reciprocity and respect with the goal of fostering the curation of land-based relationships for students. Looking at the current environmental education policy framework and engaging with educators and other researchers, Anissah hopes to begin addressing the immediate need to consider the significance of Indigenous land-based pedagogy and land-based relationships when teaching outdoor education. Fostering a sense of courage and hope for students of all ages in relation to the state of climate change is a goal for Anissah. She is excited to become part of the web of relationships that COEO has created and hopes to foster meaningful relationships, discussions, and learning among fellow student members.