1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three
sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

For my STEP project, I did a summer internship. I worked at Safelite Autoglass, and I managed our social media, such as Facebook, instagram and twitter. I also worked with digital marketing like ads, Hulu commercials, and Search engine Marketing.

2. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the
world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or
two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.

Before starting this project, I was nervous. I had never worked in a big office before and it was nerve racking at first. However, over the course of the internship I gained a new sense of confidence. I learned so much about marketing, and now I have more faith in my skills. I also feel more well equipped to start the job search. I know I am smart and capable, and a lot of that came from interning.

3. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature
Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those
affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences
completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

I got an amazing chance to work with one of the smartest groups of people this summer. Everyone at Safelite welcomed me with open arms. I was invited to happy hours, work dinners and even events. About halfway through the experience, our whole department went to Kings Island and volunteered with A Kid Again, a group that gives sick kids the chance to have a normal, fun day. This was a huge team building exercise, and was honestly so much fun. I was so grateful to be invited along.

I also did a few weeks of onboarding, which is when you get to meet with people from all different places in the company. I met with Analysts, product owners, copy writers and even the VP of Digital. Getting to talk to these people, both about work experiences and their lives really opened me up to new experiences.

Finally, I got the chance to work with another intern at Safelite. She also goes to OSU and we really bonded through the whole experience. It was really great to have another college student with me every step of the way. Her and I have continued our friendship, and may even live together next year.

4. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or
two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your
academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.

This change was very important to me. First of all, I learned a lot academically. The past few weeks in classes, I have felt ahead of the curve for one of the first times in my college career. I know things we are just now learning because of this internship. I got the chance to learn a whole new language, the language of digital marketing. I also got to work closely with analysts, and have a better understanding of how companies monitor digital trends.

Beyond just learning, I felt a change in myself. I took everything that came my way in stride, and I feel more confident in my skills now. I know I can do what needs done, when it needs done. I am very grateful for this experience, especially since I want to go into digital marketing as a future career.

My STEP Signature Project was an internship with the Charles Madison Nabrit Memorial Garden, which is a Columbus area community garden located in a food desert that works to provide locally and sustainably grown, fresh, organic produce to the surrounding community. My main project during my internship was designing a pilot youth summer day camp with a focus on implementing STEM-to-STEAM education in the garden.

My internship helped to clarify my future career goals. When searching for an internship, I was specifically interested in nonprofit organizations because I plan to work with nonprofits post-graduation. Outside of volunteering, I previously had no practical experience with nonprofit organizations so I wanted to enhance my understanding and experience with managerial/operational aspects of the nonprofit sector. I also wanted to gain a better understanding of potential entry-level jobs that are available and define my personal preferences for when I start my job search.

While I interned with the garden I also took a class to receive academic credit for the work I was doing. In the class, one of the assignments was to conduct an informational interview with someone outside of your organization. I ended up interviewing an executive director from a nonprofit that employs a more formalized structure than the garden does. This was an invaluable and extremely informative opportunity to ask questions related to the day-to-day operation of a nonprofit and the types of job descriptions their employees have.

In addition to the relationship I formed with my interviewee, the relationship I developed with my supervisor (who is also the founder of the garden) was incredibly formative. Thanks to her extremely diverse experiences, she was able to provide both personal and professional advice. Since the conclusion of my internship I have continued to work with the garden and have a mentor in my supervisor.

Perhaps the most influential aspect of my internship on my growth was the ability to participate in program design and implementation. The process of program design is incredibly unique, especially when designing a program from scratch. Though the number of decisions we had to make was somewhat overwhelming, it was fun to have such a high degree of control over what we did and how we did it. Because the camp was a pilot, as we ran the program we found ourselves adapting to problems that arose in the moment and took advantage of our ability to change things as we went. Overall, I immensely enjoyed the experience of designing and implementing a program and am interested in working in those areas in the future.

My transformation was valuable in my life because it directly relates to my career path and gave me a greater understanding of the area in which I want to work. Before my internship, all I knew was that I wanted to work with nonprofits. Thanks to my experience I now know that I’m interested in being involved with program design and different types of hands-on tasks such as implementation. Overall, my internship helped to solidify my career aspirations and provided assurance that I will enjoy working with nonprofits.

My STEP project consisted of an internship with The Ohio State Alumni Magazine. As an intern, I had the opportunity to write and research stories, conduct interviews, attend and contribute to meetings and assist with other work around the office. I also got to know other employees and was able to build a valuable network.

Because of this experience, I think I went through a significant transformation as a professional. I feel much more equipped to enter any workplace, work alongside others and be a part of a team in the workplace. I feel that I developed more confidence in myself and my abilities and now have a better idea of what I might like to do. I also improved more concrete skills like writing and content management. While I expected that I might be doing a fair amount of busy work as an intern, this was not the case at the Alumni Magazine. I felt like an important part of the team and learned a lot from my work. 

This internship taught me to me much more adaptable. The Alumni Magazine is housed under University Marketing and works in brand journalism rather than straight news. In the past I have only had experience with traditional news writing. Because of this experience, I have gained another valuable skill and have learned an additional style of writing. Not only does this make me more versatile, it also gives me the confidence to know I can adapt to new styles no matter what environment I’m thrown into. 

Perhaps one of the most crucial elements to my transformation were the relationships I built with other employees. By getting to know the people around me, their stories and their backgrounds, I feel that I now have a new outlook on the opportunities I will have in my career and in life. It was interesting to hear so many different perspectives and take the time to get know the talented and supportive people that I worked with. My conversations with other employees not only provide a better network, but they also left me with thought provoking advice that I will carry with me through the rest of my career.

Throughout my duties as intern and working on various stories I got to speak with and interview people from all different backgrounds — one of my favorite things about journalism. For example, for one story, I got to speak with experts on climate change. For a more immersive story, I got to drop in a FYE program that takes first year students to camp, horseback ride and zipline in Hocking Hills before the start of their first year. This internship showed me that you don’t have to work for a newspaper to have these types of experiences. Rather, there are an infinite number of opportunities and career paths to achieve this. 

All of these transformations are crucial to my development as a journalist. As a journalism major, I have been building these skills throughout my academic career, but after using them outside of the classroom and alongside other professionals, I feel a sense of accomplishment and excitement to start my own career. While I don’t know exactly where my next job will take me, I feel that I will be prepared and ready to take on whatever it throws at me.

I talk with students before conducting interviews at the First Year Experience FYE Wilderness Welcome Horseback riding |
Ohio State Alumni Magazine | Photo by Jo McCulty | The Ohio State University

I went along for the ride at the First Year Experience FYE Wilderness Welcome Horseback riding |Ohio State Alumni Magazine | Photo by Jo McCulty | The Ohio State University

My STEP Signature Project was an undergraduate research project in the College of Public Health. I worked on a biostatistics project focusing on the transmission dynamics of Mumps in the United States.

At the beginning of the project, I was not really sure what to expect.  I did not have any previous experience working in a lab setting.  I had no solid experience applying the steps of the scientific method to a real-world, cutting-edge example.  In addition, I had only a basic understanding of biostatistics, disease modeling, and R programming software.  Throughout the project, I was able to better understand how to construct and implement a research project from beginning question to publication of results.

The changes in my understanding of myself and the world of research came from the experiences and the relationship I built with the professor I worked with over the summer.  Dr. Laura Pomeroy is an assistant professor of environmental public health in the College of Public Health.  She is an expert in the areas of infectious disease transmission and control. The opportunity to work with her was an incredible experience and relationship to build.  I would not have learned so much about the topic without her vast knowledge and support.

Another source of personal transformation came from learning how to use R programming software.  While I had previously been introduced to the software in a statistics course, I was very much a novice at the beginning of the summer.  I used R throughout the project for data collection, cleaning, analyzing, and modeling.  There were numerous times throughout the project where I had to problem-solve with R and although it was challenging, I was able to preserver and teach myself the language. I am now very comfortable with using R software, which I would not be without this project.

The transformation I experienced during my STEP project is valuable in my life because I was able to further confirm my interest in scientific research.  I was also able to make valuable, lasting personal relationships with a professor and other student researchers.  These relationships helped me grow during the project personally and professionally. They also helped expand my professional network for the future.  Learning R was also immensely transformative because it is a very in-demand skill that employers value.  Overall, the research I did over the summer profoundly changed my academic, personal, and profession outlook.

For my STEP signature project I did an internship with The Lincoln Electric Company in Cleveland, Ohio. I worked as an intern in the Corporate Environmental, Health, Safety group and my projects involved me working side by side with other engineers to complete our tasks. My main projects included creating Lockout tagout procedures and tags for new equipment, perform a qualitative and quantitative industrial hygiene assessment in two plant departments, and other various tasks.

Going into my experience, I thought I enjoyed doing desk work and being able to just sit down and grind out a lot of work. After about a month of doing this type of work all day, I realized how much I enjoyed going out on the plant floor, interacting with a wide variety of people, and getting to be hands on with the things I’m working on. I had a couple opportunities to tour different departments to learn other places I could be useful to the company and while on these tours I noticed how much happier I was out from behind my desk. Knowing this information will help with my future job search as now I have insight to what type of specific role I would like to be in as opposed to being unsure of the work environment I would like to be in.

Another assumption I had about the world was in a cubicle workplace, I assumed everyone sat in silence, did their individual work, and went home at the end of their day with little coworker interaction. After going through my internship program, I realized that company culture and the interactions and relationships you make while at work are just as important to your happiness as the work you’re actually doing. I learned so much over the summer about different cultures and ways of life as a number of the people I worked with were from other countries. The relationships I built with my coworkers and gaining a broader knowledge and understanding of the world was not something I expected to learn going into my internship, but I am so thankful for having the opportunity to do so.

Lincoln Electric prides itself in creating an inclusive environment and encouraging its employees to be active participants in the community. The first instance of this is the number of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) I was able to be involved with during my rotation. They have groups for young professionals, women, Hispanics, and many more. The company also has funds set aside to pay for employees to do things like 5k runs, fundraising events, and even city wide corporate challenges. By participating in such a wide range of events and opportunities sponsored by Lincoln Electric, I met and interacted with so many people I wouldn’t normally and also was able to experience a wide range of culture through the entire city of Cleveland.

Finally, the large group of interns at my location made a huge difference in my overall experience and transformation as a result of experience. Since I worked at the world headquarters, there was the highest concentration of interns in the Cleveland plant as compared to other location around the US. I loved being able to learn and grow from other interns my age, both professionally and socially. These are the people at the company going through exactly the same experiences I am and it was so relieving have a strong support group in my journey to self-discover and figuring out what I might want to do for the rest of my life.

All the changes and transforms that happened over the course of my STEP signature project will help me to guide my life and make educated decisions on what career path I would like to take after graduation. There were certain things a company can offer, like ERGs, that I didn’t know existed prior to starting my internship, but I learned are something I want to look for in other companies. My internship also taught me I would prefer to live near a larger city so I can have the opportunity to immerse myself in its culture and give back in what ways I can. The technical skills I learned as a result of projects I worked on will also follow me and will allow me to hit the ground running at my next position.

1. From May 6^thto August 16^th, I worked as a Technical Sales Intern at Trane in Columbus, Ohio. In this position, I shadowed and learned from the sales engineers and was able to develop technical knowledge about HVAC’s and the energy solutions that we can provide our customers.

2. This summer was very transformative for me, because it gave me a sense of direction for my future career. I love engineering, but I did not know what field I wanted to go into, or if I wanted to do a typical engineering job for the rest of my life. The idea of engineering sales really interested me, because it was a combination of problem solving and working with people. I have gained a deeper understanding of myself through this internship, because I now know that this type of field is definitely something that I have a passion for. Being able to find energy solutions for customers that not only saved them money, but also helped reduce the carbon footprint is something that really motivates me. I found that I not only love sales, but I love the HVAC industry and the different opportunities it has. This was a huge shift in my view for my career, because I thought I would end up in a chemical engineering role in a company.

3. One of the biggest projects I was a part of was a project at a school district here in Columbus. Their HVAC equipment is 20-30 years old and failing, so the superintendent reached out to a member of the sales team at Trane. That salesperson included me in the process from the very beginning. To begin, the team was given their electric, gas, and water bills for the last two years so that we could do utility analysis. I did this utility analysis to find how much the customer was spending per square foot. This is very impactful, because it gives Trane a benchmark of where money and energy can be saved if capital improvements are made.

The next step was to do walk throughs of all the buildings on the school district’s campus to analyze the current situation of all the HVAC equipment and lighting. The salesperson, a project developer, a technician, the superintendent of the school, the schools head of maintenance, and I walked from one mechanical room to the next to take inventory of the equipment at each site. After, a project bid was put together with our proposed solution including equipment replacements, controls, lighting, and future utility savings.

The final step in this process was to meet with the superintendent, the chief financial officer, head of maintenance, and the business manager to show them the proposal that was put together. During this meeting, the head salesperson asked me to speak about the utility analysis I did, and how much it could save them in the future. This project was so transformative for me, because it allowed me to participate in a project from beginning to end and build relationships with the employees at the school, the technicians, and the sales staff at Trane. It showed me how much I loved what I was doing, and how I loved helping the customers find a solution that they could afford while also being environmentally conscious.

4. This change was transformative for two main reasons. One, it showed me that the field of technical sales is something that I am very interested in pursuing. I think a lot of engineers have not heard of technical sales, or do not think it is something they would be interested in. Taking a chance on an internship that was different than my peers in chemical engineering really paid off, because I found a job that I love and want to pursue. It was also transformative for my future, because I found a company that I love. Trane has an amazing culture of balancing work and life, while simultaneously giving the sales staff a flexible schedule. Trane also has transitioned into focusing heavily on controls and Intelligent Services in order to become more environmentally friendly than they already currently are. I think this is so important, because every company should be making active strides to reducing their energy consumption and we get to help our customers do that.

This summer, I interned as a mechanical engineer in research and development department at Etegent Technologies. I was involved in various projects and got the taste of different aspect of engineering design and research.

Because this was my first internship, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I wanted the opportunity to not only gain experience in professional setting but also to explore various routes mechanical engineers can take in the industry. I first thought that working in professional setting would be more restricted as there are numerous factors that must be considered for the success of the team. However, the general atmosphere of the company was chill and provided flexibility to the work I’m doing. The image of working in industry as an engineer in my head was the first thing that changed as I began working. I learned that working on industry projects require creativity and thinking out of the box and allows more flexibility to how I can approach the problem.

Another thing I realized from this internship is that my interest, skills, and working style fits into research and development area. Research and development engineers are the first to take a look at the problem and come up with all the possible solutions. As I mentioned flexibility previously, I had minimal restrictions to brainstorm ideas and express my thoughts when approaching the problems. I was able to freely explore different aspects of the project.

One of the main tasks of mine was prototyping. If the description of the functionality of the device is given, I come up with design ideas and keep iterating until all the requirements are met. This design is 3D modeled and the prototype is built based on the design. This work sparked my creativity and flexibility to stretch beyond my limits when solving problems. It also allowed me to understand that I enjoy product design and rapid prototyping and I have good skills for it.

As I was performing my job, I had to interact with the team, the clients, and various people professionally. I didn’t really have a good interpersonal skill as I always tried to minimize communications and conflicts with other people. This was a good opportunity for me to improve professional and interpersonal skills as I communicate with the people at work on diverse parts of the project.

Another major job of mine was testing, data analysis, and creating diagnostic tools. I tested the prototypes for various projects, collected data, and analyzed the data based on my understanding of the subject. As I performed testing and data analysis, I encountered some trouble due to insufficient diagnostic tools. For later uses, I documented all the issues with current tools. Based on these, I developed new diagnostic tools that compensate the defect in the original tools used. From this aspect of the job, I was able to improve documenting skills as well as the ability to detect any faults in the model or software tools. I also learned that this I enjoy and am good at this iterative process of testing, analyzing, fixing, and providing good result. This experience opened up the research/development side of engineering and helped me to figure out what I want to be doing when I get a full-time job as an engineer.

This transformation is valuable to my life because it changed my view on engineers working in professional setting and allowed me to explore my interests and potentials. I gained a lot of valuable skills that I couldn’t get from academic setting that would be useful for my future career. Because I worked as a research engineer, I believe the research skills I obtained from this opportunity can build a strong foundation for my undergraduate research and graduate career. The professional and interpersonal skills I gained will be useful when I’m competing for full-time positions after graduating college. All these skills will be transferred to my future career and make myself a more appealing candidate for whichever job I desire.

*The specific parts of the projects I worked on cannot be shared. Instead, I shared pictures of part of a project that is open for sharing.

STEP_picture

My STEP signature project comprised earning my Emergency Medical Technician certification followed by completing an internship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. During the Summer of 2018, I took a class at Columbus State Community college to earn my certification.  This class was comprised of a lecture section, lab section, clinical section and ride-along section, where we not only acquired the knowledge needed to be a good EMT, but also practiced the skills that are required.  During the Summer of 2019, I had the opportunity to become a student intern in the neonatology department at Nationwide Children’s hospital, where I shadowed different medical professionals, as well as attended neonatology and pediatric grand rounds.

At the beginning of my STEP signature project, I was a little unsure of the career path I had chosen as a pre-med student. At that time, I was wondering if I truly had enough discipline and confidence to be a good doctor.  My intentions were always to help people and give them hope, but as a sophomore in college, I began to realize that you needed a lot more than pure intentions to become a truly good and reliable doctor.  I wanted to use my STEP signature project as an opportunity to explore who I was, what I wanted, and what I was capable of.  I think that the process of completing the STEP project helped me to understand myself in terms of what I wanted as a career, as well as what was important to me in terms of achievement.  At the beginning of my sophomore year of college, when I began the STEP program, I was pre-med.  At the beginning of my senior year, after completing my STEP project, I am now pre-PA.

During my EMT class, I had the opportunity to work with and learn from a great group of classmates. My class was comprised of students younger than me, older than me and even students from OSU who were also completing their certification for their STEP project.  There were different people there for different reasons and it made me realize how many options and opportunities there are for all career paths.  Some students were looking to become firefighters, some students were looking to become EMT’s or paramedics, some were looking to use the experience to get into nursing school and some people were hoping to use experience as an EMT as a stepping stone for medical school.  Ever since I was young, I had said that I wanted to become a doctor—a pediatric oncologist, to be exact—but working alongside people from all walks of life helped me think more broadly about my options.

As mentioned, the EMT class included a ride-along portion and clinical portion where we had to use the skills that we learned in the classroom and lab and apply it in a medical, such as in a hospital or in an EMS vehicle.  During these sections, we learned bedside manner and how to interact with patients.  It was during this part of the class where I realized how much I value patient interaction.  Though my interactions with patients were quite brief, I learned so much about who they are and what they are going through.  The moments where I could talk to the patients and give what little comfort I could give during our brief interactions were significant to me.  It was at this point that I started explore more options in the medical field, such as becoming a nurse or a Physician Assistant.

During my internship, I had the opportunity to shadow multiple different medical professionals including, a nurse practioner, Physician assistant, social worker and nurse.  It was during this time that things started to click for me.  Experiencing a full work day was truly eye-opening.  What I admired about all these professionals that I shadowed was how much they interact with the patients and families and how much support –physical, mental, emotion—that they provide to the patients and families.  There was so much teamwork that went into taking care of each child, and that was touching to me.  I realized how much I wanted to be part of team as a medical professional.

I think this STEP project helped me think deeply about what I want and what I value as a person. Being young, it is easy to be guided to a direction that simply is not meant for you because you simply do not have the experience to know what might be right and what might be wrong.  It can be scary to take a chance based on intuition because you cannot know for sure what the end-product might be, but this project helped me make a life-changing decision based on experience.  I had the chance to experience what it is like to be a first responder, and I had the chance to experience the day in the life of different medical professionals.  I think I knew what I wanted all along, but completing this project helped me trust my intuition a little bit more.  It helped me decide the type of medical professional I would like to be and how I want to make a difference in other people’s life.  The skills that I have learned throughout the duration of my project are skills that can be applied to my personal and professional life.  I have learned life-saving medical techniques, life-changing communication techniques, and have learned life-molding personal development techniques and I am looking forward to using them in whatever path lies ahead.

Project Description: 

For my STEP signature project, I interned with Southwest Airlines. During this internship, I was responsible for supporting the Network Operations Control (NOC) executives’ team and promoted employee engagement throughout the department. I implemented new strategies that improved executive leadership communication and implement programs and initiatives that will align with and support the strategic vision of NOC and Southwest. One project that I am extremely proud of overhauling and creating a whole new employee onboarding process

What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?

I had a lot of transformational changes that happened during my internship. The first transformational experience was being able to connect with amazing industry leaders and form amazing relationships with them. Having their guidance has helped me understand and refine more of what I want to do. I know now that I want to take a gap year and return back to southwest before I got to graduate school and law school. I am able to narrow down and really truly understand if I feel fulfilled with the work that I am doing. In addition, with this experience I found out that I am worth more and can do more than I imagined

I also was culturally transformed by being able to fly to 30 places all over the US and being able to explore. I had the chance to meet online friends that I’ve never met before to or the fact that I had a chance to tour our great country and see some of the struggles that our fellow brothers and sisters are going through. It was eye opening to go to a place that is full of life and vibrant to places that need some tough love and care. It made me ask what things I can do and relit a fire for politics.

What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?

One extremely important interaction I had was when I met with a corporate lawyer and we spoke about my life, my passions, and my concerns about the life that I want to pursue, and he gave me so much fantastic advice and truly cared. He said that he wanted to take me under his wing and help me out the best he could. I figured out that it would be best for me after our conversation to get a bit more industry experience, take a deep breath, and move forward. If I didn’t have this conversation I would be scrabbling now applying to places and programs that I am not certain about. I no longer feel like I’m behind, but at my own pace navigating that odd turns life gives you.

My second important interaction is understanding the corporate world and working under other people’s priorities. I was hired for Employee Engagement and Executive Communication in a operations department. I believe the last part of that sentence is extremely important. In a operations department. The products and services I provide do not directly improve our operations per se, indirectly yes, but figuring our ways to show that to executive leadership and actually convincing them that this stuff is important is a bigger task. Especially when you are collaborating with very business minded or technological minded people. Explaining and advocating why would should implement my plan or an engagement plan may be very challenging. Especially if it could possibly conflict with the current leadership style. This taught me so many tactical skills to use in the future.

Finally, when I visited Portland, OR I noticed lots of people who are homeless, and it shocked me. Such a vibrant city, but it did not look like there was any support for these individuals on the streets. It really made me call into question what we are really doing for one another and how can we actually help. This lit a fire of service and advocating for political reform in me.

Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?

This change is significant because I was empowered and recognized that I can do bigger things than I think I can. That I do not need to compete and rush into things if I have a better battle plan. I have now great leaders and mentors that keep tabs on me, and I found a corporate family. I love southwest. Our mission, vision, values line up perfectly.

My step project was a naturalist internship in Avon, Colorado at a nonprofit called Walking Mountains Science Center. Walking Mountains Science Center’s mission is “To awaken a sense of wonder and inspire environmental stewardship and sustainability through natural science education.” As a naturalist I designed and carried out programs that worked with residents (of all ages, ethnicity , and social statuses) and visitors to the Eagle Valley to educate everyone on the natural world around them.

This project changed my perception of myself, my future, and the world around me. As an environmental science major, I spend much of my time hearing about the negative things that are occurring all around the world. I have always wanted to make a difference in the world through environmental science, but I never really understood how I would do it. Research always seemed like the answer, but honestly my personality does not fit well with research. I accepted a position for the summer in the environmental education industry, mainly excited to go to Colorado and to try something new. I went in with the perception that I had no desire to work with children and that this would be a summer job, not much more. I can honestly say that after working this job this summer, environmental education is the career path that I would like to pursue. I truly love working with children because they are our future and they are at a stage in their lives where they are the most influence-able.

I also found that I love working with a wide variety of people. Everyday that I was going to work, to learn to plan alternative activities for all different backgrounds. I loved talking to older people because they would tell me their perspective and I had the opportunity to hear stories of about different ecosystems and cultures all over the world. I have spent a lot of my life surrounded by people who have had very similar backgrounds, so having the opportunity to learn from so many visitors with different back grounds helped me to think in a more worldly manner. I spent a lot of time talking with people from different areas about issues that they were experiencing, and they would give me their personal stories. Hearing personal stories has helped me to think about environmental issues in different ways and has made me think harder about different solutions and how they affect different groups of people.

I had an abundance of interactions this summer that really influenced the way I think about things and where I see my career in the future. One of my favorite interactions was with a 10-year-old girl. She came into the nature center one Saturday while I was working and asked me a question about a scat game that we had at the nature center. After playing the game with her, I decided to bring out some skulls and try to match the animals to the skulls. I did an impromptu mini lesson on different skulls and saw that she had an interest in the birds. So, I brought her over to our bird watching section and taught her about bird watching and introduced her to a citizen science project called “ebird”. Both her and her mother were at the nature center for about 30 minutes and then the two of them left buying a field guide on the way out. I did not really think too much of the interaction, except that I thought it was fun. At the end of the summer (about 2 months later), the girl and her mother returned to the nature center. She walked in carrying a notebook and immediately asked if she could show me what was in her notebook. She began to show me that she had started her own field guide over the summer and was going online and reading about all the local wildlife. She expressed that she had gained an interest in wildlife conservation and wanted to ask me some questions about jobs in the industry. She had even started her own ebird account. Having an interaction like this was so moving for me and was really assuring that this is a field that I love and want to be a part of. Working with children is such an important thing when it comes to making a difference in the world and I think this experience was a perfect example of that.

Another interaction I had was with a retreat group. They were teenagers from all over the country coming together to do service for a week. None of the teenagers knew each other and when they arrived at the nature center none of them seemed too excited when I told them we were going to be removing invasive species from a swamp. Most of them were hesitant at first to even go near the water, however, their leaders and I were persistent that this was the work we needed them to do. By the end of the day, the teenagers had cleared out an entire section of invasive species from our swamp, they were able to accurately identify invasive and native species, and they had thoroughly enjoyed playing in the water as they worked. Some of them were curious about different inhabitants of the swamp and others were extremely zealous and had a mud fight in the swamp. All of them had to be hosed down at the end of the day and they said that removing the invasive species from the swamp was their favorite day on the trip. I found this day to be so encouraging! Seeing so many teenagers coming together and playing in the water like children and gaining an interest in the natural world, while not caring what others thought of them made the day fun for me too. I do not know if those teenagers will go home and continue to spend time outside or if they will take all of this knowledge home with them, but for one day I had take them outside and teach them while they also had fun and I hope that is an experience that they will remember.

The events above were two of my favorite moments this summer, but I had an abundance of interactions that helped to shape me and get me to where I am today. I led nature walks for so many incredible people. I had a volunteer program every week where I had one consistent volunteer who was truly dedicated to making a difference. I worked with 30 other incredible interns who helped to guide me and give me feedback throughout the summer. I was one of the youngest and the only one with no prior experience in the field. I also was privileged enough to work for Walking Mountains Science Center, which is one of the most well known and respected nonprofits in Eagle Valley.

If it were not for my internship this summer, I do not know that I would have a career path in mind at this point in time. I loved working with people and encouraging them to get outside. I went into this internship with low expectations. I was interested in what the industry was about, but really did not think much about it. I just wanted a break from research. I have learned through this job that I have the ability to take scientific research and present it to people of different education levels in a way that is fun and engaging to them. This job helped me to develop those skills and began training me for the industry. When I chose my major, I was set on going to graduate school to do research, but that changed this summer. While thinking about my future after graduation, a date that is quickly approaching, I feel excited about the opportunities that await me. I want to accept another long-term internship or two so I can gain experience in the field and fine tune the skills that I have started to develop. I would then like to return to school to get my master’s in environmental education. I have become more independent, confident, and aware of what I want in life and I am incredibly grateful that STEP helped to make this past summer of my life possible.

The picture above is one of the three nature centers that I had the opportunity to work at this summer. They were all this beautiful!

This is a picture of me and all of my outstanding naturalist coworkers during training. This picture was taken in the middle of June. If you look closely you will see that we were all wearing snow shoes for this hike.