This CLM internship has been my 4th seasonal position in the natural sciences and has afforded me many new experiences. To start, I was in a hotel on every trip rather than a tent (verdict is still out on my preference), and I was working with professionals and not only other young adults. I have come to find that this difference means a lot in terms of how you engage in your work and the people around you.

Carol is also one of the first mentors and this internship is one of the first that was not strictly structured from the moment I started to the moment I ended. I was allow to create my own projects, look at the data with my own interests in mind and actually create something that would be helpful to the program as a whole. Although daunting, I think that it created some productive struggles for me as a person, namely the confidence to follow my own path. There are so many different ways that each data set could be viewed, so many different emphasis that could be placed on work done with a land management agency and so many projects out there waiting to be created.

The next step is up in the air, as is always the case after the field season, and I look forward to seeing where the wind takes me. As of now I will be assisting the family business, learning the ins and outs of Stanton hats and getting a healthy dose of the Sonoran desert.

Stanton hat and me

So here is to raising my glass to another season of field work, to the good, the bad (it ends) and the future.

Taryn

COSO