Robert Williammee

I grew up in a lower middle class family with a mom, a dad, and a younger brother.  I was born into this body in 1986 in Southeastern Pennsylvania, USA. I attended public school where I was an average student with little interest in learning the way that they were trying to teach me. I was in the Boy Scouts where my interests were mostly in hiking expedition trips Over a weeks time we backpacked a 60 mile section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in Virginia when I was 14.  Our Dad took us fishing and to parks where we would play frisbee golf, a sport I enjoy to this day. We would take family camping trips for vacations and were encouraged to enjoy the outdoors. My dad has a small vegetable garden and my mom has many flower garden beds around the house and many inside house plants that she takes care of. These introductions to nature were very important to me and definitely influenced my interests later in life. Soon after high school I became involved in local hiking trail maintenance crews, including some where we worked on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. I attended the Pennsylvania college of Technology upon graduating high school and earned an AS in Ford Automotive Repair Technology. I became employed by my sponsoring Ford dealership as an Automotive Repair Technician and worked there for 5 years while i paid off my student and tool loans. When I paid off my loans I quit my job, packed up my truck, and headed out on a road trip of indeterminate length or destination. I drove as far south as Corpus Christi, TX on the Gulf Coast and drove all over the 4 corners area of NM, CO, UT, and AZ. I hit the west coast in South Central California almost 5 months later and I continued up the coast until I reached Washington State. I had planned to meet up with a family friend and visit for a short time but I ended up staying and have been on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State for 5 years now. I worked odd jobs mostly and passed a certification for Washington State In-Home Care Aide to help take care of an elder in our community. I decided to attend Evergreen in Spring of 2015 where i took a 3 quarter long program called "The Practice of Organic Farming". This program changed my life. I found a line of work i can connect with and enjoy and that I feel is giving back to the community and the planet. My hope as i continue at Evergreen is to find avenues which will expand my perspective on how to effectively pursue a life with agriculture.