CBS People: Erin Fider

Name: Erin Fider

Job title: Program Associate

Number of years with the college: 3.5 (also worked for the Department of Pharmacology for 8 years prior)

Where you work: Itasca Biology Program

Describe something interesting or unusual about your work here:
I work in St. Paul during the academic year and spend three months each summer at Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories. The contrast between the city and the woods, as well as the two distinct working environments, lets me lead a double life. At Itasca, I get to interact on a more personal level with people I meet only in passing here on campus. Living there is unpredictable. On any given day you might run across a bear, get caught in a storm or watch a helicopter land on the soccer field. The best part is working with the great Itasca staff that I only get to see during the summer months. As many will attest, their combined sense of humor cannot be rivaled!

Where’s your favorite spot to hang out when you are at Itasca?
I walk to a huge boulder out on Bear Paw point nearly every day. It's the perfect place to watch the sunset, have a picnic or just sit. I've taken to calling it "my rock" even though the plaque bolted onto it is in memory of Samuel Green, the pioneer forester and professor who first established summer courses in forestry at Itasca. I guess he must have enjoyed the solitude there as well, but he doesn't seem to mind sharing it.

What do you listen to in the car when you drive from St. Paul to Itasca?
Anything and everything! The Essential Adam Ant CD was my top pick this summer. It's impossible to get drowsy while listening to Ant music and it brings back some fun memories.