These past 5 months flew by way too fast for my liking and I am sad to see it come to an end. I have to admit the internship had a rocky beginning, from initially being hired to work with wildlife and ending up in a program focused on rangeland monitoring, I had my frustrations. However, by focusing on the benefits of expanding my skill set and stepping outside of my comfort zone, I was able to gain a better understanding of how the BLM works and eventually ended up working with wildlife the last couple months, which was an awesome experience. The long days of field work in the scorching “dry heat,” walking through patches of desert scrub that really want to hurt you, and car problems in the middle of my internship have definitely given me a memorable summer in Phoenix. I learned that, as stressful it may be, any issue can be overcome by taking a deep breath and looking at what options or opportunities may have opened up and, most importantly, always keeping a positive outlook on life! Oh, and I also  learned that I won’t let the monsoon season here fool me again, it only gets humid here because the heat doesn’t settle down…but at least I was able to feel the rain pour down and see the desert scrub starting to get “happy” again 🙂

I am so thankful I was accepted into this program and I wish all the best to Krissa and Wes at CBG! Good luck to all the interns still out there in the wild west, I look forward to having another adventure!

Annabelle