What a month, I am having! Hey Everyone, I hope everyone's experience has been a great one thus far. My experience has been great! Getting to know the team of IITF has been a great experience. They all are so welcoming and are determine to see us succeed in our positions with them. My mentor, Maya is the best and her boss Magaly is superb. I am working with the Urban and Community Forestry and Forest Stewardship Team in IITF. Even though my mentor is located in Puerto Rico and I am located in St. Croix she have made it so easy to work with her and the team. Just recently on President Day weekend, in St. Croix we had our Annual Agriculture and Food Fair. Some of the IITF -State, Private, and Tribal Forestry Team came to St. Croix to experience our AG FAIR. It was a great experience to be working with them and connecting with them while they were visiting my island. I was able to experience a tree planting ceremony at the Ag Fair where I accompanied my mentor and fellow UCF team member. It was such a great experience to learn how hard my Mentor worked with their partners to ensure success with their projects. 

In my role, I have taken on being a point of contact for the clients the UCF and Stewardship program have locally in the USVI. I provide support and assistance in any way I can to the team and our partners/clients. I am learning more about grants and agreements and the different projects organizations are developing, and I Experienced a brainstorming session with the Forest Health program, which was so insightful. I've also joined the Technology and Science Development Team to assist in getting content for the virtual lab website. I am having such a great experience learning, and assisting this team in the many ways I can. The whole IITF State, Private, and Tribal Forestry Team has been nothing less than an amazing. I know this is just the beginning of this journey, but something tells me its going to be nothing less than a great year working with this team. Thank you Hispanic Access Foundation for being the bridge that connected me to this amazing team. This work environment has been the best one I've ever experienced.