Left: Thomas getting ready for a hot balloon ride in Egypt. Right: Thomas on a felucca boat ride in Egypt.
Thomas Schiefer is the inaugural Field Station Manager for the Hill Country Field Station, part of the growing Texas Field Station Network. He took some time from his busy schedule getting familiar with all the ins and outs of his new position to answer some questions about where he's from and what he does.
Tell us where you came from before UT and what you studied?
Howdy! Educationally, I am a proud graduate of Austin Community College. Go River Bats! Fun fact: I even applied to be the school's mascot at one point in time. I wasn’t agile enough I guess, because they never called me back.
I finished my undergraduate in political science at the best college in the world: Fort Lewis College in beautiful Durango, Colorado. After a few years of working in education, I received a fellowship to get my Masters degree in New York. I spent a few years teaching high school and working on my Masters of Science degree there.
Professionally, I came to UT with a background in education and facilities. Weird right? I taught high school for 15 plus years in the South Bronx and Austin. Once I got too old for my jokes to land in a high school classroom, I decided I better find a new career, and that is when I found myself in facilities. I have always been handy and enjoyed the process of fixing things, so I figured it would be an easy switch. But my true professional passion has always been based around nature. Whether it was bringing the classroom into the field, or facilities maintenance on one of the many ranches or public parks in Texas and Colorado, I was always connecting nature to my careers in any and all ways possible.
Computer-generated image of some of the future facilities at the Hill Country Field Station.
What exactly does a Field Station Manager do?
Here is my best guess at this point in the very early stages of being a Field Station Manager. I am the go between for the Hill Country Field Station and UT staff, students, researchers, and community members. I am responsible for being the expert of the property. For example: where things live and grow, knowing the health of the plants and animals, understanding the conservation goals and research goals and how they work together, managing the protocols of research requests and safety, and keeping track of about a baker's dozen worth of calendars.
Another part of the equation is spreading the word and selling the field station to people. I would love to see students from every department on campus. If my week was filled with a science project about cliff chirping frogs on Monday, an art class about color schemes on Tuesday, a history of architecture class on Wednesday, a physical ed class on Thursday, and a forestry class on Friday, I would feel like I have done my job well.
One more component of the job, but certainly not the last, is learning everything I can from all the super smart students, professors, researchers, and community members, and then transferring that knowledge to others who could use what we have learned here at the Hill Country Field Station, to their own properties and classrooms. This would help ensure research isn’t stuck in the confines of our 1400 acres, would be a good goal to have.
Of course there is the job of fixing stuff. That never ends and is a big part of the job.
Thomas camping with his son Hugo.
When not managing a field station, what do you like to do in your spare time?
My spare time is pretty limited at this point because of my 5 year old son. So really I do what he likes to do: trucks, destruction, Pokemon, Legos, and lots and lots of make believe. However, when I do find a spare moment every once in a while, I love to go to the movies. I have a goal to do that four times this year. I like to ride my bike to get a healthy juice or a sweet treat. I am a community builder, so I really love being with my community (family and friends). I run one of the oldest bowling alleys in Texas at the Austin Saengerrunde. I am not really into bowling, but as stated earlier I do like community. I love a good camp out. I am a Pisces which means I have to get my gills wet at least a few times a week. Swimming is a must! And I have about a million other interests and hobbies that I am subpar at that I dabble in every so often.
