What is your full name?
Celeste Bond
What is your job title with Au Sable?
Office Manager
How did you get involved with Au Sable?
Well, I first got involved with Au Sable about 20 years ago when my then boyfriend, Eric Bond (now my husband and Director of Support Services at Au Sable) was a student here, and I would come to visit him in this beautiful place. When he eventually got a full-time job at ASI, we got married and I moved up here and never looked back! Since then, we lived on campus for several years when we were newlyweds and even when we had little babies, I’ve been a volunteer, I’ve been a summer kitchen worker, and I’ve been a parent chaperone at my child’s environmental education field trips! I truly love the Au Sable community and working as the Office Manager has been so fulfilling!
What excites you most about Au Sable?
Au Sable is such a special place that often leaves a lasting impact on the people that come here. We recently were able to have a winter retreat with college students from all over North America where they were able to share with us some of the creation care work that they are doing in their home communities and college campuses. We were able to celebrate victories with them and offer them support as they go back. It was a very refreshing time of fellowship just being together, but for me it was really rewarding to see how God is using things that students found here at Au Sable to impact their home communities. There is a real ripple effect to the work that happens here, and it is a gift to be a part of it.
What is one practice that helps you to take care of the earth?
For me, as a wife, a mom who homeschools, a mom who works, a mom of active teenagers, there are a lot of things to get caught up in a lot of hustle and bustle in the business of life. Something that always helps ground me is just trying to get outside. I love getting out and cross-country skiing or hiking with my family. But sometimes it can be just as small as walking across campus from my car to my office. Just a moment of quiet to take in the beauty of God’s creation around me. This is really helpful as I go about the rest of my busy life to be mindful and grateful throughout the rest of my day.
What do you do for fun/in your free time?
Recently, much of my free time has been traveling to my children’s sporting events! I have been surprised by how much I love going to soccer, volleyball, and basketball games! I also love pretending to be a tourist in our own home- Northern Michigan. It’s so fun visiting all the beautiful tourist towns along Lake Michigan- hiking, biking, cross-country skiing… I especially love having guests and showing off this amazing place!
What is your favorite natural space?
My favorite place to be is cross-country skiing in the woods under a full moon. The winter woods under a full moon is about as beautiful as it gets!