Geoff Hammond

NES Teacher
Lake View School
Huntington Beach, California

I teach at the 5th grade level, and I realize the importance that science and math have for my students before they move on to middle school. This is my 9th year as a teacher at Lake View School in Huntington Beach, CA. We are currently the only NASA Explorer School in Orange County and I hope to use this Spaceward Bound experience to further enhance our school’s science program and our students’ interest in science and exploration.

I have a passion for the outdoors and have been an avid backpacker for over 20 years. In college I worked for the Student Outdoor Program at San Diego State University. It was my job to take participants on backpack, canoe, sea kayak, and rock climbing trips. I successfully planned, organized and led over 20 trips throughout my career at the university’s Leisure Connection. In addition, I spent a summer working in the High Sierra Mountains as a counselor taking high-risk youth into the backcountry for six days at a time. There is nothing quite like the feeling of being totally self-sufficient and living in an environment that the majority of people will never see or experience in person.

Most recently I have been training as a triathlete and have competed in numerous triathlons both locally and nationally during the last five years. In September of 2004 I completed the Wisconsin Ironman Triathlon and am planning to do another in Coeur d”Alene, Idaho in 2007.

My wife, Karen, and I reside in the city of Fountain Valley and support a busy household with our two boys. Grant is three years old and already interested in space, computers, and jellyfish. Kai is 17 months and spends his time making mischief of one kind, and another.

I look forward to meeting everyone in person and to an incredible experience along the way.