Over the last few months of my internship, I was able to connect with local community organizations that uplift Latino voices and the area itself is predominantly Hispanic. It also makes it even more special to me because this is the community I was born and raised in. I take great pride in knowing that I am serving my underserved community and paving the way for future interns. I am excited to take the lead on this, my mentor trusted me with this task and though there is much I still need to learn, I have a lot of gratitude for her taking a chance on me to represent my community and make a difference.  

This is going to be a difficult task, but not in terms of the work content. I feel overwhelmingly sad that most of the community is either not aware of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but also general information of accessing their public lands. It will be challenging but nonetheless, it is imperative that we are seeing the same faces both in the community and public lands. I am excited to create programs, events, and most importantly a relationship with these organizations. It is something that I will take with me even after my internship.  

I have learned that outdoor recreation and access is not felt equally. I remember my first time when I became aware of the environment changing and how important it was to protect habitats. I was twelve years old, but I did not have many resources or money to go to National Parks. It really wasn’t until I got older and started college where I began my journey in this field. I always look back at my personal story and think to myself, “what if I did have resources?”. I want to give those opportunities to younger generations that I didn’t have. And who knows, maybe it can spark a love for this career just like it did for me.  

A wonderful highlight and dare I say, monumental, that we connected with the first San Jose school and my coworker, and I delivered a wonderful program! The kids were super excited to see Rangers and learn about endangered species, information about our Refuge and recreational opportunities. These are the biggest joys in my work and hope to carry the torch elsewhere. We also brought a school to a fishing field trip at our fishing pier and one of the kids caught a tiger shark! I got to touch it!