#PeopleofCLE: Chad, a teacher in love with nature

Chad MeyersNicky GrusenmeyerChad Meyers

Northeast Ohio is changing. These are the people shaping its future.

Our ninth installment:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chad Meyers is a teacher at Garrett Morgan High School in Ohio City and a devoted Deadhead. Chad’s real passion is nature, and during a rough spot in his teaching career, the Fairview Park resident decided to volunteer for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, where he does hike assists and historical interpretations. “They started to break up the school, they were starting to get rid of teachers. They were gonna basically reconstitute the whole school. So get rid of all the teachers that were there. I really felt like I was being squeezed professionally and being forced out of my home that I had known for 16 years. So I was feeling kind of lost. I needed something for myself. So hiking, camping, nature is kind of like what me and my family do. So I decided to do some volunteering with the National Park Service. Hiking, camping, nature has always been the place I would go when I needed to find myself. I grew up in Rocky River. Elmwood Park was my backyard, so I grew up in the woods. Through high school, whenever I just needed some space, that’s where I would go ... to the woods. That’s always been my safe space. The woods are where I feel the most at peace with myself and the world around me.” #peopleofcleveland #peopleofcle

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Nicky Grusenmeyer
Nicky Grusenmeyer

About the Author: Nicky Grusenmeyer

Nicky Grusenmeyer is a Cleveland native and junior at Cleveland State University. She is a reporter and ad manager for the CSU student newspaper, the Cleveland Stater. She has shadowed and worked closely with the Channel 5 news staff. She specializes in science writing, with an emphasis on environmental issues.