KATELYN KUKLINSKI
Researchers
HOMETOWN: WARRENSBURG, NEW YORK 2016 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN OUTDOOR EDUCATION 2020 GRADUATE OF SUNY PLATTSBURGH WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES WITH A MINOR IN ECOLOGY CURRENTLY: EARNING A MASTER’S DEGREE IN FOREST RESOURCES WITH A CONCENTRATION ON HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF NATURAL RESOURCES AT UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
ZACH RABELER
Trail Builders
HOMETOWN: ONEONTA, NEW YORK 2016 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN OUTDOOR EDUCATION CURRENTLY: TRAIL MANAGER AT WILDERNESS PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Katelyn Kuklinski and Zach Rabeler met at SUNY Adirondack. But the pair found more than love in the college’s Outdoor Education program; they each discovered their life’s work. “Mountain biking has become a huge part of my life, which is pretty crazy because I never thought it would be,” admitted Kuklinski, who earned a degree in what was then called Adventure Sports. After graduation, she worked as a snowboarding instructor and mountain bike guide for a few years, then enrolled at SUNY Plattsburgh, from which she earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Ecology. Today, Kuklinski lives with Rabeler, her fiance, in Chestertown, while earning a master’s degree in Forest Resources with a concentration on Human Dimensions of Natural Resources from University of Maine. Her research is focused on the impact of mountain biking on rural communities. “The mountain biking industry is so important and becoming pivotal to our communities here, so we’re
hoping this research helps us understand the economic and environmental impact,” she said.
mother suggested he look into SUNY Adirondack’s Outdoor Education degree program.
She grew up in the woods around her family’s Warrensburg home. “I was outside at my house, on those trails and doing my own thing,” she said.
“I was not really into academics at the time and was having a lot of trouble,” he remembered. “My mom had the idea that I go into Adventure Sports, and that got me to focus on my education because I was interested in what I was doing.”
Rabeler, however, grew up skiing and was introduced to mountain biking, a sport both his father and stepfather love, at a young age. “I spent a lot of time mountain biking,” he said, describing a trip to British Columbia, a leader in the mountain bike trail industry. “I was always into mountain biking, but out there I became more in love with it, even though I didn’t think it would be a possibility for me as a profession.” His love led him to build trails in his backyard, well across his neighbor’s property line. “I ended up getting in trouble for that,” he laughed. When it came time for college, Rabeler didn’t know what he wanted to do. He studied Liberal Arts, then Wind Turbine Technology. But after a few unsuccessful semesters at another community college, Rabeler’s
He loved it from the first class he took, a ski instruction course. “It was a higher-level course with all these kids who had been in the program for like two years,” he said. “I was intimidated because all these guys had developed friendships already. But I didn’t need to be, because we’d have cookouts at the Ski Bowl; they are great people and we are all into the same things.” While working on a degree, Rabeler was an intern at Wilderness Property Management in Wevertown, building mountain biking trails at the Ski Bowl in North Creek. That led to seasonal work at WPM since. “Next summer will be my seventh with Steve [Ovitt, the owner],” Rabeler said.