A passion for the outdoors and an innate curiosity about the things around her led Tanya Strickland to her career.
"I love to be outside. I love to be near water. I spend a lot of time doing that," said Mrs. Strickland, the environmental coordinator for North Augusta's Stormwater Management Department.
The road to her current job was a winding one, and it took perseverance to negotiate it.
After graduating from North Augusta High School, Mrs. Strickland started working for a private company.
"I did computer services and loved it," she said.
In her mid-20s, she semiretired and became a stay-at-home mother to her four children. During that time, she discovered a love of science.
Mrs. Strickland said the family had a pond in the backyard. She would see plants and insects around the pond and wonder what they were, so she would research them.
One day, she decided her research would be more beneficial if she were doing it to pursue a college degree. In 1989, with her youngest children in elementary school, she started taking classes at the University of South Carolina Aiken.
"As my children grew up, I took a few classes here and there," she said.
She worked in different jobs that augmented what she was learning in the classroom. She graduated in 1999.
"I always told my children to keep on going and you'll reach your goal," she said.
One of her goals since graduating has been to improve the area's water quality. "I am very passionate about the water quality of the Savannah River," she said.
Before obtaining her position in North Augusta, she worked in a similar job with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Preventing and cleaning up pollution in the streams surrounding North Augusta are among her major tasks in the stormwater department. The keys to prevention are education and outreach.
"Education is number one in this program," she said.
Mrs. Strickland goes to North Augusta schools and events such as Kids Earth Day in April with her stormwater model. The model shows some of the ways water gets to the Savannah River. Along the way it might encounter pollutants such as animal waste, improperly applied lawn pesticides and oil that leaked from a car. All of those things end up in the river.
When not at work, Mrs. Strickland enjoys nature photography and gardening.
Reach Charmain Brackett at charmain.brackett@augustachronicle.com.
WHAT IS COMMUNITY COUNTS?
Community Counts is The Augusta Chronicle's new collaborative effort to benefit the communities in our area. This multitiered program of involvement includes contests, events, sponsorships and recognition of outstanding youths, teachers, volunteers and public servants in the Aiken/Augusta area.
PUBLIC SERVANT OF THE MONTH: TANYA STRICKLAND
JOB TITLE: Environmental coordinator for the Stormwater Management Department
CITY/COUNTY DEPARTMENT: North Augusta
JOB DUTIES: Ms. Strickland has several duties. They include educating the public about stormwater pollution, inspecting streams for signs of pollution and clearing storm drains of pollution.
NUMBER OF YEARS IN THIS POSITION: Four
NUMBER OF YEARS WITH THE CITY/COUNTY: Four
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT MY JOB: "I love working with the public." To nominate a Public Servant of the Month, e-mail Charmain Z. Brackett at charmain. brackett@augustachronicle.com.
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