My dad quoted a saying to me once that hindsight is 20\/20.\u00a0 Now that my internship has come to an end, I can take a step back and look at my 10 months of work with the Forest Service RMRS lab from a different perspective.\u00a0 I\u2019m back home in TX almost a year later and with new experiences and new adventures to share with my family.\u00a0 I look now to the oak tree that\u2019s been growing in the front lawn and it looks the same but a little taller and wider.\u00a0 I look at my parents and my sister and they look the same, but just a little bit older.\u00a0 I wonder if they think the same when they look at me. \u00a0After all is said and done, I am REALLY glad I went.\u00a0 I was apprehensive to be away from home for such a long time but now I\u2019m really glad I did.\u00a0 Whether my family can see it in me or not, I feel like I grew confidence as a person and as a biologist.\u00a0 Being out of my comfort zone (a brand new environment and new job) really forced me to be come out of my shell, I think.\u00a0 For the longest time during the internship I was quiet and didn\u2019t really say much, but now looking back I feel like I was able to open up a little more towards the end of my stay.\u00a0 And during work, whether I was doing a good job or not, I always felt like I could have done better.\u00a0 I always felt like I was always messing up and constantly doubting my abilities.\u00a0 Looking back now, I think I did the best I could give and that I was probably being too hard on myself.\u00a0 I think now when I go to my next job or adventure I will be able to feel like I know that I am doing a good job and not stress so much about it.\u00a0 I think for that, I am grateful for the internship experience.\u00a0 I think the internship gave me a place to stumble and grow as a biologist and now I will be able to go into my next job with ease and confidence.\u00a0 Another reason why I am grateful for the internship is that with the help of my boss, I was able to speak to her and her colleagues about graduate school and other opportunities to consider.\u00a0 I have been considering grad school but was scared of the idea of all it would entail.\u00a0 I was able to express my concerns about school and they helped me to see that it is not as scary as I was making it out to be.\u00a0 I now have a few more people, my mentor included, to turn to for advice or for suggestions in my professional career, people I wouldn\u2019t have known or have met if it weren\u2019t for the internship.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to say thanks from the bottom of my heart to Krissa and Marian for the internship opportunity. \u00a0I would definitely do it all again and do recommend other recent graduates to consider an opportunity through the Conservation and Land Management Internship Program.<\/p>\n
Merry Marshall
\nBoise, ID
\nFS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My dad quoted a saying to me once that hindsight is 20\/20.\u00a0 Now that my internship has come to an end, I can take a step back and look at my 10 months of work with the Forest Service RMRS … Continue reading