Meet Tim Dillon

Stories about fighting forest fires, jumping out of airplanes and camping for days in the woods without a shower must have sounded like heaven to Tim Dillon as young Boy Scout growing up in rural Connecticut. As he listened to his grandfather relate exciting adventures of hiking 30 miles into the Clearwater National Forest to protect valuable western white pine from blister rust disease, Tim probably marveled at the image of walking where Lewis and Clark once tread and the beauty of a pristine forest campsite where no girls could be found.

Though he only saw his grandfather, Frank Dillon (For. ’43), a few times a year during summer vacations and Christmas holidays, an appreciation and concern for the environment took seed. Growing up in Stafford Springs, Tim participated in many outdoor activities and eventually earned the Eagle Scout award, scouting’s highest rank. Tim’s father, a high school earth science teacher, greatly influenced Tim’s passion for conservation and mentored him in a broad range of natural resources.

While many young boys love science, playing outside and listening to grandpa reminisce about the 1940s, once high school starts, sometimes these interests fade as cars and longer curfews become of utmost importance. Not so for Tim. In his senior year, he applied for a semester-long science internship and soon found himself in at the McCall Outdoor Science School. As he worked as a field instructor educating youth about the environment, Tim literally was walking in his grandfather’s footsteps around the McCall Field Campus, only he didn’t know it at the time. The revelation came later, when Frank showed some Idaho memorabilia to Tim. At that point, the connection became clear.

“The focus on forestry and Idaho intensified between us when he acquired an internship at MOSS,” said Frank. “I showed him Idaho yearbooks and my photo albums of 1940 and ’41. We were leaving footprints in the same place, 68 years apart.”

Tim, who looks eerily like Frank, said the McCall intern experience was a turning point that influenced his decision to attend the Univeristy of Idaho, along with a couple of visits to campus where he connected with staff and faculty. He is now a freshman, planning to major in forest resources.

After graduation, Tim plans to work for a national park where he can enjoy the conction between the outdoors and people.