Melissa Giovanni

About me

My off-season is the school year. I’m an environmental science professor. My favorite part of the school year is summer break! (I do love teaching, but I *really* love summer). I’m happiest with a book in my hand and rarely turn on my TV. Music is life - singing in the car, playing guitar, and going to concerts. I became a geologist to get paid to play outside, and turns out I should’ve just started as a river guide 25 years ago.

The Best Part of My Job

Sharing my favorite place in the world with new people and hopefully inspiring them to protect it. (Sappy but true.) I also love how the canyon encourages you to be present in a way that rarely seems possible in the world above.

How I found OARS

I’d already been down Grand Canyon on several trips as the “geologist” and as we all know, it only takes one trip to catch the river bug. In 2021, I met Ross Duncan on a GCRG GTS trip and asked him to bring me along as an assistant. Went to guide school and kept assisting, and then in 2024, they gave me a baggage boat! I was 44. Never even held oars until I was 40. It’s never too late, kids.