Moving to a small town in Arizona after living in Miami, FL all my life was definitely not in my 2024 Bingo card. However, when the opportunity came to work with the U.S. Forest Service as an intern for a year, it was hard to find any reason why I shouldn't take it. Now, almost three months since my RAship has begun, I wonder why I ever thought I shouldn't have accepted this position. Working for the Coronado National Forest at the regional office in the Douglas Ranger District, I have engaged with so many different people with so many different career paths and backgrounds that led them to this forest. Calling the office a family would not be an understatement. From the fire technicians to the front office clerks to the rangers, everyone here is very familiar with one another, joking around and lending a helping hand, regardless of their department. It is a privilege to have become a part of this office, and I look forward to learning more from everyone within the district and many more this year. 

The first month of my internship was a lot of adjusting. Adjusting to the new time zone, the new apartment, the new job, the new life. However, after meeting all of my coworkers and getting a feel of the office dynamic, it all became less intimidating, and I became more eager to engage with the people around me. My supervisor reminded me of my previous supervisor, very flexible, understanding, and willing to hear me out. He emphasized that this will be an opportunity for me to explore my interests and develop a variety of skills such as grant writing, GIS, and even riding a Bobcat. I still haven't learned how to ride the Bobcat, but I'm sure one day I will! It took some time to receive my government computer, but I was still able to gain valuable experience. I took part in a prescribed burning in the Chiricahua Mountain Range, watching the fire crews burn pile after pile and learning more about the process to conduct a burning. I worked under a coworker that is a fuels technician and he showed me all of our mountain ranges, the Chiricahua, Peloncillo, and Dragoon. It was exciting to see the different mountain ranges and their unique features and ecosystem. At some point we did some exploring, observing rocks, identifying the different flora in the forest, and shooing all the cattle away when they got too close to our equipment. Finally, at the end of the month I received my computer and that's when things started to pick up!

In March I spent more time in the office since I now had my computer. The majority of my days were training on ArcGis Pro. I watched webinars, did assignments, and even attended GIS Q&A's to hear from specialists. I am still very new to the software, but there is a lot more that I know now than when I first started learning. And so, when my supervisor gave me the task to not only write a grant proposal, but to also make maps for each of the burn sites, I knew this was something I could do to prove to myself how much I've learned this past year. As of now, I am still working on the proposal, and in a few weeks from now, I will be attending a GIS training that was recommended by a colleague. There is still so much I have to explore, and I am still figuring myself out and what I need in this internship, but I can safely say this experience has been very rewarding and I cannot wait to see where I am a year from now thanks to this opportunity!