My mentor Cryssie tried many things before she found what she was looking for at the state parks. She tried EMT training and soon realized blood wasn't for her. She tried business and same thing, wasn't for her. It wasn't until she had a class about the flora and fauna of Orange County. Once she had that one class she continued to pursue environmental studies. She later on got a maintenance job at the state parks and got to know the people working there well enough to get a job. The guy who had her current job was leaving and one of the workers asked if she wanted to take the job, then the rest is history.
After hearing Cryssie's experience of having one class that changed it all for her it gets me excited to experience classes that I like and don't like and finding that one class that will change it all for me. I'm nervous when it comes to finding my way and what I am good at. I know that it won't be easy and It won't find what I want right away, but I know I will eventually. (1,2) the first two images show us organizing closets. These closets had a mix of junior ranger goodies, volunteers gear, and a lot of brochures. These little activities can sometimes be tedious, but in the end we know that we helped a lot with something that they needed. (3) we also continued with the decals and had and initial challenge of finding the proper tracks for the quail. So using our knowledge of photo shop and asking for some books on birds they had; we were able to find the track , take a photo of it and use it to make decals. (4) This is morgan and I wth our pal Scarlett. She's really cute and a joy to see around the office.
During my internship I've had a fair share of moments of being self advocate. Right now we are working on a few things, and all have required us to be self advocate. The most recent mini project we are working on is getting decals and making them to be put on the walls of their visiting center. I advocated for myself when we were given our assignment of the decals. We were initially given a small space to work in and as we started we realized we would need more space, so I asked our mentor if we could move and get a bigger place to work. Luckily, they had a spare office that had enough room for us to work diligently in. I see a lot of self advocacy in this work place of the parks. If someone needs help they will ask, because each person has an important role. If someone doesn't get their job done it affects a lot of people.
When starting week two, I can say that I am glad I chose to intern at the San Clemente State Park. I've been able to meet people with all sorts of different roles and see what it takes to run a park. I feel with the time given I will be able to complete the tasks that have been asked of me. The little projects my mentors have given me are achievable in a week, which is nice.
As my first week comes to an end I am pleased to say that I've been having a great time. One of the projects we are working on is inventory of all the information at the campgrounds. We've visited three camp sites and documented all of the information boards. We are now working on cataloging all the photos we took of the boards and coming up with new design and layouts for the boards, so they are up to date and nice looking.
When it comes to wildlife, I've seen a good amount of skunks and some Cats roaming around. today was my first day at San Clemente state beach. The day consisted of mostly introduction. We got a tour of the park and all the people that make things run smoothly. Both of my mentors have a young spirit and are eager to have us start. Today we also set up our schedule. Wednesday-Friday we will be working with Blyth on the social media and volunteer management. Tuesday and Saturday we are working with Chrissi with education outreach. We will be attending field trips with schools and assisting. I'm looking forward to this experience at a state park and learning how it runs.
I will be doing my externship at the San Clemente State Beach. I will be assisting with educational events, beach clean ups, and volunteering management.
I'm excited and nervous. I will be doing this internship with another student which eases my nerves, but I'm nervous because I've never done anything like this before. One thing that I am more excited about for this time of internships compared to my junior year, is that my mentor is truly excited to have us, and it's nice to know where we will be working wants us to have a good time. |