Casey Allen:
CLASS OF 1991
Bear River High SchoolClass of 1991
Garland, UT
Bear River Junior High SchoolClass of 1987
Tremonton, UT
Clovis High SchoolClass of 1987
Clovis, CA
McKinley Elementary SchoolClass of 1983
Tremonton, UT
North Park Elementary SchoolClass of 1978
Tremonton, UT
Casey's Story
Life (do NOT sign the guestbook--CONTACT ME NOW: caseallen at gmail dot com)
In short, after I left high school, I traveled a lot, earned my bachelor's degree (Geography), earned a Master's Degree (in Science Education), traveled some more, and earned a PhD. Along the way, I worked for the National Park Service, as a "consultant" in Latin America, lots of other places, and traveled. A lot.
I began working in Higher Education in 1999 as an adjunct faculty member teaching meteorology at Salt Lake Community College. A month or so into that gig, I was offered a full-time position at Weber State as an Academic Advisor (go figure!) That lasted for a few years until a full-time faculty position came along...
So I moved to Grenada (in the Caribbean!) where I was a full-time faculty member at St. George's University. The Island Life was relaxing, fun, exciting, and rewarding...Ahh...the things you learn on a small tropical island! I moved back to the States just before Hurricane Ivan demolished the island. It has since recovered very well. Such a wonderful place!
A few years later, I earned my PhD (in Geography) from Arizona State University, where I was also an Associate Director for the Master of Advanced Study (MAS) Program in Geographic Education, a National Science Foundation GK-12 Fellow, and helped start the Institute of Social Science Research. Now, I'm a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Sciences, in the Department of the same name, at University of Colorado Denver (ucdenver dot edu). Or my personal site: clas dot cudenver dot edu slash faculty slash callen
EMAIL ME INSTEAD OF SIGNING THE GUESTBOOK...I'm too cheap to pay the Gold Membership fee. Here's my contact info: caseallen at gmail dot com! Email me, would ya?
School (Do NOT sign the guestbook--CONTACT ME NOW: caseallen at gmail dot com)
I started Kindergarten at North Park, then transferred to McKinley when my family moved into a piece of sh!t house on the Iowa String (which has since burned down -- the house, not the Iowa String).
I stayed at McKinley until 6th grade, and then went to Bear River Middle School. My fondest memory of Middle School was when a few of us, as 7th graders, went to Box Elder and competed against 8th graders in an Intramural Volleyball Tournament--and won!
High school is a blur. I did a lot of crazy, wild, and other, umm, "odd" things while there. Most of the time I don't even remember being in classes. Legal things I remember doing include working at the Pie Dump, being in the Drama Club Presidency, and dress-up days...man...seems so long ago. I do remember some things: being in Guy Steppers, trying to get my face in every Club picture in the yearbook, and Spirit Weeks where I dressed-up for every freakin' day. That and macking with the ladies...
I left high school junior year and began college that fall. Now THAT was what I really needed...
College (do NOT sign the guestbook--CONTACT ME NOW: caseallen at gmail dot com)
I started college at SNOW in Fall of 1990. After one quarter there, I transferred to Salt Lake Community College. After a couple of quarters there, I left for Weber State in Ogden, Utah.
I thrived at Weber, and after majoring in everything from Musical Theatre to Recreation, I finally, officially, chose Geography as my major. My first ambition was to be a backcountry Forest Ranger, but after I spent time studying and traveling overseas, that idea fell by the wayside. Although I still love to backpack, hike, and play in the mountains (and jungles, and snow fields, and deserts...), now, I just help others play!
I worked at various places to put me through undergrad, and even started and owned a successful business for a while. In the end, Education got the better of me, and I buckled-down to finish my undergrad degree in Geography. Along the way, however, I did several study abroads--Europe (twice), Middle East, & South America--and traveled quite a bit!
After undergrad and working in the "real world" a bit, I decided it was time for graduate school. I was debating between USU (in Logan) and SUU (in Cedar City), but ultimately chose SUU because of their flexibility; I completed my master's degree in nine months. After that, I decided to go on and study at the doctoral level, so we packed up and moved to Denver.
While studying at the University of Denver for a while, I also worked for the National Park Service. The program in Denver, however, didn't give me the funding they said they were going to, so I moved back to Zootah and...Expand for more
I began the long process of searching for a job in higher education (see my "work" bio for more).
For my Ph.D. (in Geography), I went to Arizona State University, where I focused on enhancing student learning through field studies of rock art. My advisor/mentor is THE world expert on Rock Varnish (really, search for "Rock Coatings" at Amazon dot com--that's his book!); another mentor is a world-renown archeologist who wrote the handbook on rock art (really, it's called "Handbook of Rock Art"); still another mentor wrote the book (three of them!) on the Mexican-American Borderlands. The geography faculty at ASU boasts well-known professors and scholars, and I am amazed that I got to work alongside such great people.
Workplace (do NOT sign the guestbook--CONTACT ME NOW: caseallen at gmail dot com)
My first "job" was daily farm work, like a lot of people from the Tremonton of my day. Then, when I was 12 or so, Ted (my dad) got the great idea to start a lawn mowing business. This I did for a few years, until I got tired of working for squat!
So, I looked elsewhere, and found a job as a stockboy at King's, on Main Street. This lasted only several months though, as I soon became involved in school a bit more. During high school, I worked at the Pie Dump during lunches and on days that I didn't want to go to school. I can't really remember much else...
When I started College at SNOW, I got a job as a cook in a Vietnamese Restaurant. That was fun, because I could eat whatever I wanted! After moving to Salt Lake, I secured a job at the 49th Street Galleria, and then in the marketing research division of Smith's Food and Drug corporate office in Salt Lake.
When I'd had enough of Smith's, I moved to the Kaysville/Farmington area and worked at the Maverik convenience store on hwy 89 and Shepherd Lane, then the K-Mart which was across the street, and finally started my own business. With "Casey's Cleaning Service" up and running--I cleaned the Wilshire and Cinedome theaters in Ogden--I thought I had it made. But then the movie theaters that I cleaned went out of business (maybe I shold have charged less...) So I worked as a tutor at Weber State for the last year or so of my undergraduate program.
After graduating form Weber, I worked as a "consultant" for a "mining exploration" company in Latin America. However, as my contract was coming up for renewal, I realized that I needed to pursue a graduate degree to get to where I really wanted. So I headed off to earn my master's degree, where, among other things, I helped start the Escalante Center in Southern Utah.
I then moved to Denver, and I took classes at the Ph.D. level while I worked for the National Park Service. After returning to Utah (and working in the convenience store field again for a while) I finally was able to return to Weber State: first as an Academic Advisor, then as an adjunct faculty member for the Geogrpahy department. I was promoted to Academic Coordinator, and after the Director left for another position, I was the Interim Director of the Academic Advisement Center. Who would have thought: me, an Academic Advisor!
As much as I loved what I did in the Advisement Center, I began searching for advancement opportunities in higher education administration (a rarity these days, especially with only a master's degree). In my meanderings, I found a position to fit my needs: a full-time faculty faculty position at St. George's University in Grenada, West Indies (yes, the Caribbean) complete with a 10 month contract!!! Tropical island...beaches...monkeys...Pina Coladas...ahhh...Just what I needed.
After a while at SGU I decided it was time to move on yet again, and that I needed a Ph.D. So, a few months before Hurricane Ivan devastated the Island (and most of the Caribbean), I moved back to the States, and finaggled my way into a Research Associateship at Arizona State University. After a year, I was offered a Faculty Associateship (teaching) position and invited to be an Associate Director for the Master of Advanced Study (MAS) Program in Geographic Education at ASU. I was also a National Science Foundation Fellow, where I took "real" science into the K-12 classroom (and got paid nicely for it). Nice...
I completed my PhD in early 2008, and accepted a tenure-track professorship at University of Colorado Denver. The front range is nice. Check out my school: ucdenver dot edu. Or my personal site: clas dot cudenver dot edu slash faculty slash callen
(do NOT sign the guestbook--CONTACT ME NOW: caseallen at gmail dot com)
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