Wild and Confident: The Transformative Power of Hunting and Fishing for Women
By Stevie Gawryluk, Artemis Ambassador, hunter, angler, and hiker.
The great outdoors means a great deal to me for many different reasons. It grounds me. Nature is not as silent as some people think. It is alive with sound! If you listen carefully, you’ll hear the birds, the wind, the water. Yet compared to the constant noise of the modern world, it is peaceful. Even in my most stressful moments, I have found deep peace just standing in the middle of the river, fly fishing in Colorado, listening to the water running, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face, and just being present.
The outdoors also lets me be wild. It frees me from expectations and pressures, allowing me to be my truest self. Knowing how to hunt and fish, knowing I can feed myself and put meat on the table, has been deeply empowering. That’s the beauty and power of the outdoors. As an avid hunter, angler, and hiker now living in Juneau, Alaska, I want to share that sense of empowerment with others, especially women. It’s been a long journey to get here, though, and become who I am today.
I come from a family with mixed Mexican and Ukrainian roots, and I like to joke that I'm "Ukrexican." My family raised me to be integrated into American society. Although having a mixed background and being raised in the U.S. can sometimes complicate one's sense of identity, I am proud to be American and equally proud of my Mexican and Ukrainian heritage.
As an adult, I have moved around a lot, but I grew up in a small mountain town in Southern California called Wrightwood, which has a population of less than 4,000 people. Because of this, I spent a lot of time outdoors with my family from a young age.
While hiking was a shared activity we enjoyed as a family, I was never invited to join my dad and brothers to be a hunter. I didn’t become a hunter myself until my thirties. However, watching them and accompanying one of my uncles for years on elk hunts made me eager to learn. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to be a hunter too, so I began researching and learning more about it. I realized that being an actual hunter is very different from simply tagging along.
Besides researching to learn how to hunt consciously and ethically, I was fortunate to have a friend willing to teach me. That friend is now my husband.
As I searched for hunting resources, I specifically looked for other women who share my passion. I wasn’t interested in influencers chasing fame or sponsorships. I wanted to learn from women who truly wanted to inspire others, build community, and increase our representation in the hunting world.
That’s how I found Jess Johnson, one of the founders of Artemis, a program that empowers women hunters and anglers and champions women’s leadership in conservation.
I’ll never forget one of their podcasts where they talked about imposter syndrome. Hearing other women express the same doubts I felt, wondering if we belonged in spaces where we saw so few like us, was validating and uplifting. If you don’t see yourself represented, hunting and fishing can be very intimidating and discouraging.
What started as a search for inspiration and information soon became a calling. Today, I’m proud to serve as an Artemis Ambassador. In this role, I engage in various activities, including hosting fun outdoor events and educational events, all while helping to build a strong community of women hunters and anglers, amplifying voices of women in science, and making conservation engaging.
Through this journey, I’ve met incredible people from all walks of life. It’s been both inspiring and frustrating. Inspiring to see women determined to break into the hunting and fishing space despite the challenges, and frustrating to see how many barriers still exist. Yet every time I watch a woman catch her first fish, nervous at first, then beaming with confidence with the skills she learned, I’m reminded why this work is so important.
Too often, society tells women that we are not capable of doing things we are perfectly capable of. My advice? Tune out that noise, listen to your heart, and pursue your dreams.
If you’re interested in hunting, angling, or simply finding a supportive community in the outdoors, connect with Artemis. Our ambassadors across the country are ready to welcome you, teach you, and cheer you on. The outdoors is for everyone, and everyone deserves to feel at home there.