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Patricia “Trish” O’Kane joined �պ����� faculty in the fall of 2015 to teach in the . Three years later, she has won a �պ����� 2018 Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award. 

The award recognizes �պ����� faculty for excellence in instruction, especially in learning experiences outside the classroom; ability to engage, motivate, and challenge students; use of innovative teaching methods and curricula; commitment to cultural diversity; and excellence in student advising. 

“It is extremely rare for a recipient to win the award from a first nomination and after only three years on the �պ����� faculty,” said Joan Rosebush, chair of the Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award committee. “Many recipients are nominated multiple times before receiving the award.”

A rare bird, indeed. In her office, filled with student mementos and birding paraphernalia, O’Kane tosses aside a fuzzy pink flamingo hat from the guest chair. A tidy collection of real bird’s nests lines a shelf. A framed display of a New York Times story she published after Hurricane Katrina destroyed her home and community hangs on the wall along with a framed “How to Build Community” poster and a simple hand-lettered sign that reminds her to “Teach Gratitude.” 

"I am greatly honored by the award. Teaching is my way of giving back," said O’Kane, a lecturer in the Rubenstein School and �պ����� Environmental Program. "It takes a village to teach a class, and I have had a great community of mentors and helpers.” 

O’Kane teaches undergraduate courses that immerse students in both human and natural communities. Her innovative courses include Birding to Change the World, What Does the Fox Say, and Media Literacy and Activism. She also co-teaches and serves as a first-year advisor in Race and Culture in Natural Resources, a diversity course and part of the Rubenstein School core curriculum. 

“Trish shaped me to be more thoughtful about the environment and my everyday interactions,” said Mike Perrin ’19, a Rubenstein School environmental studies major who took Race and Culture with O’Kane. “She challenged me to think in a different way than someone from a predominantly white, upper middle-class suburb of Boston. She pushed me to do more to follow my interests and passion and be focused on what I want to do. Trish is one of the coolest people I know.” 

A former civil rights investigative reporter in the Deep South and the war zones of Central America, O’Kane encourages action, activism, and writing in her classroom. She motivates her students to explore the outdoors, connect with the community, and publish in the media. 

It’s wonderful to be recognized," said O’Kane, who has taught in a women’s prison and at three other universities, most recently the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "The Kroepsch-Maurice award shows great respect for our students by recognizing and perpetuating the hard work that goes into serious, deep, and connected teaching.” 

Media Literacy

"Everyone has one or two teachers over the course of their academic career that truly change their life — Trish is that professor for me," says Emma Radeka '21, a Rubenstein School environmental studies major. "Her 'Environmental Policy, Media Literacy and Activism' course is such a success because of her real-life experiences in journalism, activism, and citizenship. However, what truly makes this class shine is her integration of touching personal stories, her genuine desire for her students to succeed and create positive change, and her never-quit attitude. I equate her to a hummingbird — I will never understand how she does all that she does and still gets enough sleep to function. Trish is the epitome of a selfless citizen."

O’Kane taught her media literacy course for the second time this past spring semester. To get an A, she required students to publish in major media sources. So far, 13 of the 59 students have published op-eds on topics from voter engagement to climate change adaptation to gun control. 

“I give my students a daily media diet of 'good' news and get them to think about being informed, engaged environmental citizens,” said O’Kane, who expects her students to read The New York Times, Burlington Free Press, and an alternative viewpoint medium of their choice every day. “Teaching the class is my response, as citizen and journalist, to what is happening in the nation and world.” 

“I have never come across a more passionate, inspiring, or caring professor than Trish O’Kane,” said Jillian Scannell ‘20, a Rubenstein School environmental studies major who published an op-ed in the Burlington Free Press. “Trish has an unwavering belief that her students can make change. By the end of the semester her belief in us resulted in students publishing op-eds, giving commission statements, and leading a meeting with Governor Phil Scott to discuss gun legislation in Vermont. Trish’s course provided me with a confidence not only in myself as a person, but also in my ability to have a positive impact on my community.” 

What Does the Fox Say

To engage students in their environment and to teach sustainability from a non-human perspective, O’Kane leads a weekly three-hour exploration of local sites in What Does the Fox Say. She created this course while studying the ecology and community benefits of a park in Madison for her PhD dissertation. 

“For homework, I ask students to choose one place outdoors from which they observe their surroundings for one hour, three days a week, on their own time,” said O’Kane who bases the exercise on the book The Forest Unseen by David Haskell. “Students keep a phenology journal of notes and drawings, practice observation from the perspective of an animal, and select one observed creature to research in depth.” 

Birding to Change the World

O’Kane modeled her hugely successful Birding to Change the World course, both a service-learning and a (pending) diversity class, after one she developed at the University of Wisconsin. With O’Kane’s training and guidance, �պ����� student mentors share their newfound birding skills and team up as “co-explorers” with elementary school-aged children in a Burlington after-school program at local parks. 

“Throughout the semester, I got to know my co-explorer, fifth grader Lilley, while also learning so much about myself. It was an experience like no other. I felt like I was doing something great with my time, like I was truly making a difference,” said Amanda Duffy ‘20, a Rubenstein School environmental studies major who is working this summer at Green Mountain Audubon as a seasonal educator, a position resulting from the birding course. “My role at the Audubon Center completely aligns with my semester with Trish, and she is the reason I feel so prepared.” 

O’Kane’s influence stretches beyond the scope of the course and its community-based project to a leadership development team of the most successful student mentors. These leaders repeat the course as an independent study and work with public schools to help run afterschool birding clubs. The Burlington School District recently hired four of these seasoned student mentors. 

“Trish works tirelessly to create a warm, compassionate, flexible, yet structured, environment where our students have felt empowered to grow in new ways,” said Mandi Harris, a Burlington School District senior site director who has partnered with Birding to Change the World over the past three years. “She and her students have given our students an outlet to express their creativity, build strong bonds with trusted adults, and explore new interests. I have seen so much growth in all of the students enrolled in the program and I know that I, as well as their parents, teachers, and others in our community, are truly grateful for the hard work Trish puts in each day to better the lives of these young people.” 

Ripples from O’Kane’s course reach beyond Burlington. By request, she is helping Brown University create a “Bird Buddies” program modeled after her course. “I would love to see our students train them,” she said. 

“Trish taught two incredible classes that changed me as a person, and as a student,” said Duffy, who also took the media literacy course. “Her engaging teaching style, dedication to her students and their success, commitment to helping students in and out of the classroom, and utmost compassion sets her apart from others. She completely flipped my previous ways of thinking, learning style, and interests on their head.” 

“I am thrilled with what my students have taken upon themselves to accomplish,” said O’Kane. “I meet them as fledglings, just out of the nest, and get to watch them soar. It is joyful, fascinating, and I learn from them.” 

Trish O’Kane joins past Rubenstein School Kroepsch-Maurice Award recipients James “Jed” Murdoch (2017), Matthew Kolan (2015), Walter Poleman (2003), Stephanie Kaza (2002), John Shane (2002), Elizabeth “Ibit” Wright (2001), Mary Watzin (1996), Jeffrey Hughes (1996), and Donald DeHayes (1991).  

Other 2018 awardees include Nicholas Gotelli, Professor in the Department of Biology; Lance Smith, Associate Professor in the Department of Leadership and Development Sciences; and Lizzy Pope, Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences. 

The memorializes Robert H. and Ruth M. Kroepsch and her parents, Walter C. and Mary L. Maurice. Robert Kroepsch served as Registrar and Dean of Administration at �պ����� from 1946-56. His wife, Ruth, graduated from �պ����� in 1938 and her father, Walter Maurice, graduated from �պ����� in 1909. All four were teachers.