Brief Thoughts on Graduate Assistants

I have been working at the Macoskey Center for close to four years and in those years I have seen many developments and changes to the property. Since I started in my sophomore year I have witnessed the completion of the greenhouse, completion of the new photovoltaic array, the construction of the straw bale chicken house, the erection of the wind turbine, the life and death of chickens, the building of the blueberry prison, the installation of the spaceman, the creation of new recreational trails, the assembly and implementation of a gypsy chicken house, the building of a yurt, the creation of a PV trailer, the expansion of the market garden, construction of the new RAMC sign, and the near completion of renovations to the house. Although my boots are still dirty from the building developments to the center, I would say the most memorable aspect of my time here is the people I work with.

With the exception of Thomas Reynolds, the Director of the Macoskey Center, the employee lifetime is only about two years. This short employee lifetime isn’t because of unbearable working conditions or worker incompetency, but instead is because the employees are also students at Slippery Rock University and it is only so long before we graduate and move on. The graduate assistants (GAs) for example are limited by the one or two year graduate program that they are part of. Because of the short employee turn around, I have worked with many sets of GAs, and I have observed that each GA brings different ideas and skills to the Macoskey Center. Some GAs specialize in sustainable agriculture, some specialize in construction, some are good with people, and some are good with environmental education. The ideas and skills that are brought by each GA improves the Macoskey Center and the local community in some way, and in return the GAs improve professionally. Personally, I have gained a great deal of knowledge about the many aspects of sustainability from the graduate assistants at the Macoskey Center and I hope that I have been able to return the favor.

The Macoskey Center is a unique place in this not so environmentally friendly society that we live in and it is constantly being reshaped by the flux of people that work here. The influx change the Macoskey Center and the outflux change the world.


Doug Goetz
Undergraduate Student Worker 2006-2009

(Thomas note: Doug graduates this December. He has been one of my key go-to people for so long, I'm not sure how we will get along without him. Thanks for everything Doug!)