From the field to the classroom, Bigfork's Christina Relyea has a career in education

Christina Relyea might be away from education for a while.

But that usually lasts only the time it takes to walk from one classroom to another at Flathead Valley Community College.

Relyea, who lives in Bigfork, is the honors department director at FVCC, she teaches in the natural resources department there and is on the board of trustees for Bigfork schools.

Prior to joining Flathead Valley Community College six years ago, she performed field research at the Flathead Lake Biological Station. “It’s been a great choice, moving into the classroom,” she said. “But it’s been a big switch.”

Relyea, who has a doctorate in stream ecology, has been involved with honors programs since she was in high school. Now that she directs the program at FVCC, she gets to teach and administer — two very different job requirements. She helped develop the recent series “Wildlife and Humans in the 21st Century,” which featured a variety of natural resource specialists who spoke at FVCC on issues from wolves to grizzly bears and bull trout. The program was popular in the community, and had total attendance of over 800 people.

Recently Relyea helped oversee the presentations of honors department research projects at Flathead Valley Community College, including that of Brittney Amos, a 2015 Bigfork High School graduate who presented a research paper on the the threats of biological terrorism.

Relyea chose to run for the Bigfork school board last year because she felt she could provide a unique insight on the board. “I’m really interested in education and felt I could contribute because I am a teacher and administrator,” she said. “I thought that would be a good contribution. I can provide that perspective of furthering students’ education and where the need to be.”

She’s been on the school board since May. Bigfork voters recently approved a $14 million bond issue that will be used to renovate Bigfork High School. While the school district has its requisite challenges, “I’m finding that our schools are in really good shape from a financial and personnel standpoint,” she said. “Overall, I’ve been really pleased.”

Relyea said she came to the Bigfork school board without an agenda, but the bond issue will help finance renovation of the school’s science labs — something near and dear to her. Renovating the science facilities will help Bigfork schools prepare their students for challenging college-level curricula. A dual-enrollment program at Bigfork High School allows students to take college-level classes while in higih school. “I think the school does a good job of preparing kids for college,” she said.

Relyea was raised in Arkansas and came west to do her doctorate dissertation in Yellowstone National Park. From there she came to the Flathead Lake Biological Station. “I’ve put my time in, in the outdoors,” she said, “now I get to teach about it.”

She is among several doctorate-level instructors at the college, which has a high amount of PhDs for a college of its size, she said. This is allowing FVCC to pursue undergraduate research projects — something rare for a community college. Students at FVCC are doing research on lynx ecology, as well as the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs. She gets to teach science to a wide range of students, from those in their teens to people in their late sixties. “I really like sharing what I know,” Relyea said.

The research division at the college, which is in its early stages, could become a cornerstone of FVCC’s future in science education. In fact, the math and science programs at the college are starting to outgrow their spaces, she said. “There are a lot of good careers in math and science, so it’s good to set students on their paths in those fields.”

Being a trustee on the Bigfork school board was Relyea’s first board experience. “There was a lot to learn, and I’m still learning,” she said.