Hello! My name is Lucia Possehl and I am a senior undergraduate student at the University of Vermont where I study geography and minor in history and environmental studies. I am from Minneapolis, Minnesota and currently live nestled between the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont. Here at UVM, I am an Outing Club leader, work in the Geography Department, and am currently working on my senior thesis on the landscapes of care of opioid harm reduction in rural Vermont.

I attended the Colorado Plateau: Desert Canyons and Cultures course in the Spring of 2019. I decided to attend WRFI because I felt that there was tremendous value in learning about the landscapes and cultures of the United States and Indigenous Nations. My experience backpacking and canoeing through the canyons of Utah, learning about small towns in the Southwest, and staying with Navajo and Hopi families greatly shaped my interests, values, and goals for the future. After graduating from UVM this upcoming spring, I hope to pursue work in the fields of sustainable rural community engagement, place-based human geography research, and community storytelling.

I am very grateful for the experiences and knowledge that I gained on WRFI. I am excited to answer any questions you may have, to talk about my experience with WRFI, and to hear about your own background and where you hope to go in the future. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or thoughts you may have!