Tessa’s lifestyle growing up in the country outside of Santa Fe set the pace for her future endeavors. She was raised on organic food and spent most of her youth on a macrobiotic diet. Between fourteen and seventeen years old she experimented living a different lifestyle and exercising her independence. In order to refresh her connectedness and passion for nature, she began a summer job with Lehigh Sheppard's, "Fine Gardening". They re-opened a childhood interest and compatibility with nature. Lehigh also inspired Tessa to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) so she could be on Ski Patrol at the Santa Fe Ski Basin. Lehigh's husband Cody, the Director of the Santa Fe Ski patrol hired Tessa at age 18 the following year. She quickly became a highly respected and competent employee of Cody Sheppard's team. This opened up doors for her to meet many people in the sports arena. The next summer she pursued a river rafting career. This was a perfect fit for Tessa due to her knowledge and enthusiasm for the local landscape. Tessa's efficiency and dedication revealed her passion for the outdoors in both professions. The mountains and the river became Tessa’s life. She was a dedicated and a well respected athlete, river rafting guide, kayaker, ski patrol, and EMT.
Tessa's local accomplishments led her to explore other outdoor adventures. She was introduced to the National Outdoor Leadership School, started in 1965 by Paul Petzoldt, who had taught for Outward Bound. NOLS is considered the leading institution in wilderness and leadership education, and each year the school teaches thousands of students how to travel and camp responsibly and respectfully in the backcountry. Interested in becoming a teacher for NOLS herself, Tessa applied for and completed the river instructors' course in June 2004. The application process for the instructors' course is rigorous; applicants must fill out a lengthy questionnaire and submit three references, along with an outdoor resume, before they will be considered. One of nine selected, Tessa felt very fortunate to make the cut for this whitewater course. The training is not unlike a thirty-day job interview with senior staff reviewing and offering feedback on your skills and job abilities, while also teaching plenty of new skills. The course is rather competitive and completing it does not mean that you will necessarily be offered work. But Tessa became an excellent paddler for NOLS and was offered work immediately. She worked that fall and the following spring in the Rockies. Before going into the Peace Corps she was very torn whether to stay in the United States as a NOLS instructor or go into the Peace Corps. The river was her passion and always a priority, the choice she made to give herself to the Peace Corps, was because of her global consciousness.
I must admit, as her mother, I would have preferred for her to stay in the United States and be a NOLS instructor. She requested that I, her father and godparents not try to influence her decision. We all respected and allowed her to make her decision independently of our personal feelings. We did not want her to go so far away, yet we had to allow her freedom of choice, which ultimately became her DESTINY.
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Tessa, Top Watch, Santa Fe Ski Basin
Tess in Grand Canyon
NOLS Group
Tessa peeking out of Rocks, Grand Canyon
Tessa surrounded by nature, Grand Canyon
The beautiful river
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