As a child, Connie Deegan was always outside. âMost kids can think of one or two things that they were totally into,â Deegan said. âOf the four kids in my family, I was just the outside kid.â She was constantly observing her natural surroundings, and for her, it was always about finding connections: What animal eats this bug, and what does this bug eat? What animal digs this hole, and how do they do it? âI wanted to know all that stuff,â she said. Deegan, who now works in the Johnson City Parks and Recreation Department as the nature program coordinator, has turned that incandescent curiosity into a successful career as an educator.