Some people I am really grateful for during my internship are Ron Swaisgood, Nacho Vilchis, and Maggie Post. Ron Swaisgood, for accepting my resume and taking the time to find a team willing to take in a high-schooler with limited experience as an intern. Nacho, for being a fantastic mentor and being patient with me as I learned how to work the cameras and sort/study the pictures. And Maggie, for taking me into the team and letting me tag along on daily tasks such as counting eggs and banding chicks. This internship has been one of the most genuine experiences in wildlife conservation I’ve ever had, it was really eye-opening and inspiring to work hard in college to get into that field.
This experience has been great for considering my college/career path. I already am going to major in Wildlife Conservation Sciences, so this internship is the perfect example of something that I very well may be doing in that field. I haven't figured out what kind of animal I want to specialize in, but there's plenty of time for that in the future. For now, working with Least Terns has been fantastic for skill-building and real life experience for where I want my career to be headed. Mind Map |