Instructors
Jessa Turner
Jessa has traversed 48 states and 8 countries in search of the ground beneath her feet. Her wings are slowly transforming into roots buried deep in her home state of Kentucky, where she graduated with a degree in Sustainability and Environmental Studies. Her chosen mission is to teach folks how to build miniature mansions of mud and straw. Contact Jessa at Jessa@HomeGrownHideAways.com or at 859.986.DIRT.
Nathan is HomeGrown HideAways' jack-of-all-trades. He has a degree in Culinary Arts, but has spent the last five years as a stone mason and landscaper. Nathan is also our resident waste vegetable oil guru, having run his F250 on grease since 2005. Contact Nathan at Nathan@HomeGrownHideAways.org or at 859.986.DIRT.
Former Interns
Phil Hawn
Phil graduated Berea College in December 2008 with a degree in Ecological Building Design and is now pursuing even higher education at Appalachian State University. A native of North Carolina, he founded the NC Natural Building Coalition to teach the public about natural building before returning to school to work toward his degree in sustainability. A professional artist for more than 20 years, Phil looks for ways to include art into building projects. Contact Phil at philhawnnc@excite.com.
Erin Finsel
Erin hails from the tiny town of Bat Cave, North Carolina (and, consequentially, has heard too many Batman jokes in her lifetime.) She came to Berea College in Fall 2007 and, since then, has discovered her love for the Sustainability & Environmental Studies (SENS) program; she is now thinking very hard about becoming an independent SENS major. Erin enjoys petting animals, eating cheesy food, and singing show tunes.
You can read about Erin's summer internship by visiting her blog.
Adam unwittingly slipped and fell into the vortex of an honorary internship when he detoured into Kentucky and wound up swapping his Nintendo controller for machetes, tampers, saws, drills, and many other itinerant implements of destruction and construction. A talented artist, Adam is also from North Carolina, but is now beginning a journey into the world of higher education in Florida.