Dr. Mary Skopec is the Executive Director of the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, an Iowa Board of Regents campus located on beautiful West Lake Okoboji. As a young child, Mary dreamed of being a forest ranger – sitting high in a watch-tower waiting to call the alarm on forest fires. Eventually, Mary realized that she is quite terrified of heights and climbing the tower was a solid “nope” for her. She now finds herself safely on the ground and building the next generation of scientists and environmental leaders using immersive education models.