Fernando Silva Sarmiento - Field Coordinator
I was born in Lima, Peru. My family and I moved to Fairfax County Virginia, just outside of the Washington DC area, when I was 2 years old. This is where I grew up, spending weekends in the parks playing soccer and getting into any body of water that wasn't frozen over. In the summers, my family spent any time we could on the beach. Falls were spent visiting Shenandoah National Park hiking through the changing fall colors. Living outside our nation's capital also gave me the ability to visit all the great museums. My favorite one growing up was and still is the Natural History Museum. I fell in love, at an early age, with how amazing nature and the circle of life are and how everything is connected. Being from an immigrant family instilled in me the importance of family, community, helping each other, and sharing what you can. Part of that was helping with home improvement jobs which exposed me to hand and power tools and the satisfaction of putting something together. After high school, I went to college close to home at George Mason University where I got my BS in Human and Ecosystem Response to Climate Change.
Throughout and after my college career I spent time as an educator and mentor tutoring math and science for kids and young adults. I discovered MCC one night while looking for new work opportunities more closely related to my education. I ended up joining MCC out of NRock as an immersion member stationed out of Schafer Meadows for the summer of 2022. I fell in love with the work, land, and community I experienced throughout my 5 month season. I felt that I had found something worth investing in and so the following year I came back to NRock as an immersion crew leader. My leader season took a crazy turn after I was injured and needed to be evacuated from the Bob Marshall Wilderness. I spent the rest of my season as an interim Senior Crew Leader jumping around teams and helping with project work and interpersonal conflicts. It was a very challenging year both professionally and personally, but through all the struggle I learned a lot and had a great community to lean on.
I came back in 2024 officially as an SCL. After one of NRock's Field Coordinators officially announced their departure, I threw my hat in the ring, and in April I had the privilege to join the NRock team as an FC. In my free time, I like going for long hikes with friends and my pup Abby, spending time soaking up the sun at the beach, and getting in a workout at the gym.
