What an adventure this has been. Next week is the last week of my internship here in Galt, CA at the Cosumnes River Preserve. It has been a great experience. I have made a myriad of professional contacts, greatly expanded my knowledge of California plants, and gained valuable hands-on experience with California land management.
After finishing up a bachelor’s degree in 2009 from the University of Northern Iowa, I set out to find a job in the natural resources field. As anyone who has ever tried this knows, it was tough. Jobs were scarce and the few that did exist had so much competition it seemed impossible to get in. I finally succeeded in securing a job with a small county conservation organization in Iowa where I worked as a natural resources technician for about 2 years. I loved the work I was doing, but I came to the conclusion that I wanted to go back to school to pursue an advanced degree.
After finishing all of the coursework for a PSM degree by the spring of 2012, I needed to find an internship to complete the degree. This was when I found the CLM internship program. I applied for the program and was accepted. After a few interviews, I was hired to intern with the Bureau of Land Management at the Cosumnes River Preserve in Galt, CA. I have been working here since May of 2012. My work has been extremely diverse; I have had the pleasure of doing everything from seed collection for the SOS Program to banding of endangered cranes to taking genetic samples of endangered red-legged frogs and EVERYTHING in between. I have been allowed and encouraged to continue my education through attendance and participation in seminars, workshops, and special events. These events have also been instrumental in networking with others in the field.
I have applied for many full time jobs over the past several months, but have been met with limited success. Despite the frustrations, I am confident that I will find the right position with the skills and experiences I have gained through this internship. In the meantime, I have secured a temporary position with the Nature Conservancy as a vegetation technician for this field season.
The CLM internship has been an awesome experience for me, and also one of the building blocks of my career. Through the CLM program, I have been working my dream job for the last 12 months. The work is physical, but rewarding. There is nothing else I would have rather been doing. If you are considering a CLM position, consider this an A+ recommendation.