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00:00:00 Michelle
So first question of this conversation is, can you tell me a little bit about yourself and what specifically drew you to apply to the natural resources internship in the first place?

00:00:12 Mya
Yeah, totally.

00:00:13 Mya
So my name is Mya.

00:00:14 Mya
Use they, them, she pronouns.

00:00:17 Mya
I work at California State Parks right now.

00:00:21 Mya
I work in natural resources management, and I got that job from this internship.

00:00:26 Mya
I was able to, you know, connect with people, work with my mentors, and, yeah, they connected me to state parks.

00:00:34 Mya
So that’s, like, a really big thing that this internship kind of brought me to, which was amazing.

00:00:39 Mya
I’m also doing some research at Cal State Long beach, which is really super awesome.

00:00:44 Mya
I get to study the use of eucalyptus, which is an invasive plant, as, like, a potential use for mulch, which is really super cool.

00:00:52 Mya
Doing that for about, I think, eight months.

00:00:55 Mya
And, yeah, just my queer identity is very important to me.

00:00:59 Mya
Just kind of, like jumping back and forth to, I guess, like, my different identities outside of work, too, and then kind of going back to the question about, like, what led me towards a natural resources internship?

00:01:11 Mya
I was an intern at the center for Environmental Biology at UCI, and so that really gave me a super, like, wide range of different kinds of jobs and opportunities in natural resources conservation, environmentalism, all of that.

00:01:25 Mya
And I got to connect with Crystal Cove Conservancy through Jen Mendez, and I got to work with her multiple times with.

00:01:34 Mya
It was like a high school event where you got to do work with high schoolers, help them kind of explore research opportunities.

00:01:42 Mya
So I got to do that with her and a few other folks at Crystal Cove Conservancy, and that brought me to the internship.

00:01:51 Mya
And I think I was just interested because I had such a great time with my internship at UCI.

00:01:57 Mya
Like, I was pretty sure that I was interested in the conservation field.

00:02:01 Mya
And then, you know, doing that internship, I felt, like, very confident.

00:02:06 Mya
Like, this is, like, definitely a potential career path for me.

00:02:11 Mya
I really liked the collaborative element to it.

00:02:14 Mya
I was like, oh, wow.

00:02:15 Mya
Working with a team would be great.

00:02:17 Mya
And at the time, I was an undergrad, and I really liked the fact that I would also be working with a grad student, so.

00:02:22 Mya
So I’d be working with another undergrad, you know, similar experiences as me, but still with their own skill sets that are different from mine.

00:02:31 Mya
And then also a grad student who had, you know, advice to give super valuable knowledge, connections.

00:02:37 Mya
And, yeah, just.

00:02:38 Mya
I love working with people and learning from them.

00:02:41 Michelle
Awesome.

00:02:41 Michelle
Thank you.

00:02:42 Michelle
I really liked that.

00:02:43 Michelle
And I liked and appreciated that you added elements of who you are outside of work, because that’s Also very important.

00:02:50 Michelle
Next question is, before starting the program, how did you see your career path and how has that changed since completing the internship?

00:02:58 Mya
I definitely think this internship really did, as I said, solidify my interest in natural resources.

00:03:07 Mya
I specifically really loved the project that I got to do.

00:03:10 Mya
I got to do community based habitat restoration for the coastal bluffs of Crystal Cove State Park.

00:03:15 Mya
As I’ve kind of, like, talked about a little, little bit, I really love working with people and learning from them.

00:03:20 Mya
And the idea of bringing, like, the community in and giving them a chance to connect in such a unique way with their environment was super important to me.

00:03:30 Mya
That was super exciting because that’s kind of how I got into, you know, the field.

00:03:34 Mya
I got to do an internship where I got to connect with the environment in a really awesome way.

00:03:39 Mya
So, like, the idea of bringing people and giving them the opportunity to do that too, via, like, habitat restoration was something that was, like, super exciting for me.

00:03:49 Mya
And just the people that I met during the internship, both, like, the people I worked with and the people that I got to collaborate with, like, across agencies, those people were so awesome.

00:04:00 Mya
So down to earth, I could tell that, like, the conservation field just had a lot of, like, really great people in it.

00:04:06 Mya
I know.

00:04:07 Mya
I think I’ll just leave it at that because I feel like I did kind of answer it in the last question.

00:04:11 Michelle
So maybe help with thinking about specifics about the internship.

00:04:15 Michelle
The next question is asking how the professional development workshops, like the resume building, the interviewing and presenting those aspects, how did they impact your preparedness for your future or current career?

00:04:29 Mya
Yeah, I really enjoyed the resume building.

00:04:33 Mya
I remember specifically people coming in and talking about their experiences was super great because I was so new to, you know, the field.

00:04:41 Mya
And I am still new, of course, but just hearing kind of how people got to where they were was super duper helpful.

00:04:49 Mya
And that was the first few professional development workshops.

00:04:52 Mya
So just hearing testimonials from other people in the field was super helpful to me.

00:04:57 Mya
And then I also think we had a workshop where we talked about negotiating salaries and talking about potentially negotiating for benefits and that kind of thing.

00:05:10 Mya
And that was really helpful too, because it’s not really even something I thought about too much before then, you know, how important it is to advocate for yourself.

00:05:17 Mya
I thought that was super duper helpful.

00:05:19 Mya
And of course, yeah, resume building, just looking for jobs too.

00:05:22 Mya
We had a professional development workshop on that.

00:05:25 Mya
That was also, like, super helpful to me.

00:05:28 Mya
Just finding, you know, finding.

00:05:30 Mya
Finding a job and like, knowing where to look for a job can Be so daunting and so difficult, and so, like, being, like, given those resources and getting to work, you know, within the cohort of, like, oh, you know, kind of sharing those resources, too, and going through the jobs together and kind of seeing, okay, what are the kind of things that future jobs where I could, like, go up in my career, what kind of skill sets are they looking for?

00:05:56 Mya
And that was something.

00:05:58 Mya
Again, didn’t really think about that much before the internship.

00:06:02 Mya
So getting those things on my radar, I think, was really, really helpful for that.

00:06:06 Michelle
Awesome.

00:06:07 Michelle
I’m glad to hear that that actually has helped you.

00:06:09 Michelle
I totally don’t think a lot of people realize the professional building aspects of this internship and probably only think about the field work and that’s it.

00:06:21 Michelle
So I’m glad to hear that you have positive experience on both sides.

00:06:25 Mya
Yeah, totally.

00:06:26 Michelle
For the next question, do you feel like this internship opened doors or opportunities that you may have not had access otherwise?

00:06:34 Michelle
If so, how so?

00:06:36 Mya
I definitely think this opened a lot of doors in my career.

00:06:41 Mya
First of all, just connecting with people.

00:06:42 Mya
I think this internship is really valuable in that way.

00:06:47 Mya
I got to not only connect with state parks, I got to, of course, work with Crystal Cove Conservancy.

00:06:53 Mya
I got to partner with some nonprofits and do informational interviews.

00:06:57 Mya
We did a lot of, like, trying to figure out, you know, what exactly would be the community wants of, like, a habitat restoration.

00:07:04 Mya
And then also what are, you know, partners in surrounding areas doing?

00:07:09 Mya
What is their kind of their strategy for habitat restoration.

00:07:14 Mya
Being able to work with people in that way was super awesome.

00:07:18 Mya
Just kind of kind of putting, like, a face to a name.

00:07:21 Mya
And then, of course, finding out about the current job that I. I’m at right now.

00:07:26 Mya
I found out about it through, you know, the internship, and I know that other people have had similar experiences to me, whether it be through state parks or through nonprofit agencies, connecting with the people that you did during this internship.

00:07:43 Mya
It’s definitely really helpful for just finding out, yeah.

00:07:46 Mya
What careers are open in the area and stuff like that.

00:07:50 Mya
So awesome.

00:07:51 Mya
Really, really, like, grateful for this internship for that reason, too.

00:07:56 Michelle
I have a feeling what your answer will already be, considering you are passionate about environmental science.

00:08:03 Michelle
But the next question is, do you feel like your program experience and the work that you’ve done were meaningful?

00:08:10 Michelle
And if you do feel like they were meaningful, explain why and how?

00:08:14 Mya
Yeah, I’ve kind of touched on it a little bit, but I guess I’ll kind of reiterate it.

00:08:19 Mya
Being able to create a habitat restoration plan that engages with the Community in a really meaningful way that was obviously meaningful to me.

00:08:30 Mya
And also just creating a project that is going to go into effect at a state park was, like, so exciting to me.

00:08:37 Mya
I was like, oh, my gosh.

00:08:38 Mya
Like, I get to make this, like, incredible impact, like, I have.

00:08:42 Mya
That’s, like, an amazing opportunity.

00:08:44 Mya
Especially as an intern coming right out of college, kind of being able to use all of the things that I learned at the time and, like, put it into a program was.

00:08:56 Mya
Was super awesome.

00:08:57 Mya
And just being able to work at the state park, too, because at the time, I had never worked at Crystal Cove.

00:09:02 Mya
I had been there a little bit, but I hadn’t done any field work.

00:09:07 Mya
So that was also super cool because I was, you know, familiar with the ecosystem, like coastal stage grub, but I hadn’t really done any, like, field work on the bluffs or anything like that.

00:09:17 Mya
So that was just a really cool opportunity, like working on the beach.

00:09:21 Mya
That was super cool, too.

00:09:24 Mya
Yeah, I guess I’ll just leave it at that there.

00:09:26 Michelle
Yeah, for sure.

00:09:27 Mya
One thing I’ll touch on, which this might be another question in the future, but being able to hone in on each person in my cohort, we each obviously had our own skill sets, our own knowledge.

00:09:39 Mya
Being able to share that with each other and lean on each other for certain aspects of the project, that was something that was, like, super duper awesome.

00:09:48 Maya
That’s just like, a specific thing.

00:09:50 Maya
With the people that I worked with, I felt so lucky working with the people that I did.

00:09:55 Mya
They were so awesome.

00:09:56 Mya
Really, really down to earth.

00:09:57 Mya
Really nice people.

00:09:59 Mya
As I said, so knowledgeable and learning from each other was something that was super important to me.

00:10:04 Mya
And I already said that earlier, but just to reiterate that.

00:10:07 Michelle
Awesome.

00:10:08 Michelle
I am loving all these reiterations.

00:10:10 Michelle
By the way, though, it’s really nice hearing from you and other people we’ve been interviewing about their positive experiences.

00:10:18 Michelle
People seem so genuinely appreciative, so we can keep the compliments going.

00:10:24 Mya
Awesome.

00:10:25 Michelle
Okay, so we are ending off with the final few questions.

00:10:30 Michelle
Thinking back about your experience, were there areas you wish the program could have better supported you in?

00:10:36 Michelle
And if so, how would you suggest the program improve?

00:10:39 Mya
There was one thing in the professional development.

00:10:42 Mya
Oh, one thing that I did think of.

00:10:46 Mya
I’ve done this in the past, and I found it very helpful.

00:10:49 Mya
So I feel like definitely a mock interview, especially if it’s like a.

00:10:53 Mya
Like a job where you don’t have all of the qualifications.

00:10:56 Mya
For example, how do you argue that, like, different experiences could still make you a good candidate for the job.

00:11:04 Mya
I feel like that is something that I’m finding currently in, like, jobs that I’ve, like, looked at or anything like that.

00:11:11 Mya
Just having that ability to argue that your skills could be transferable to things that you don’t necessarily have, like, direct experience with, like, that could be a really kind of interesting and helpful activity, potentially, for sure.

00:11:26 Michelle
I’ll definitely relate that to Jen.

00:11:28 Michelle
I think she will appreciate hearing that feedback.

00:11:31 Michelle
I don’t think I could be able to speak without those practice rounds, honestly, because I’m the same boat where I will.

00:11:38 Michelle
I will just talk and talk and talk and talk.

00:11:42 Michelle
Yeah, totally similar to the last question.

00:11:46 Michelle
Do you feel like the program met your expectations?

00:11:50 Michelle
Why or why not?

00:11:51 Mya
I mean, I honestly didn’t really have too many expectations going into the internship, but I do think it, like, in a lot of ways, it.

00:11:59 Mya
It was better than I expected.

00:12:00 Mya
I definitely think I got more out of it than I expected.

00:12:03 Mya
As I said, I honestly was just really happy to get an internship out of college.

00:12:08 Mya
That was, like, the main thing.

00:12:09 Mya
I was like, oh, my gosh.

00:12:10 Mya
Yay.

00:12:11 Mya
But again, I keep saying the amount of people I got to connect with and collaborate with across agencies and also just within the cohort was super duper awesome.

00:12:21 Mya
And as I said, like, the project, I genuinely felt like it was something that I was proud of, and I hope that the other people in my cohort felt that way, too.

00:12:30 Mya
I thought it was, like, super well written.

00:12:32 Mya
I was like, wow, this is going to be so helpful.

00:12:34 Mya
I’m so excited that this is going to get to go to state parks and they can implement it.

00:12:39 Mya
So I think the main thing, like, the fact that it was something that I was super proud of, and I felt that, like, my entire cohort thought was super awesome.

00:12:47 Mya
I feel like that was something that definitely left, like, a very lasting impact on me, which kind of goes back to some of the previous questions.

00:12:56 Mya
Definitely was better than I expected.

00:12:59 Michelle
I’m assuming then, if you didn’t have too many expectations, did you hear any testimonials from previous people who’ve done the program to, like, influence you on applying?

00:13:10 Mya
Yeah, you know, I actually don’t think I knew of any, like, specific testimonials.

00:13:17 Mya
I’m trying to think if I knew anyone who had done the internship before.

00:13:21 Mya
I kind of found out about it through Jen, as I mentioned.

00:13:25 Mya
So I don’t think I. I don’t remember any.

00:13:28 Mya
Any testimonials.

00:13:29 Michelle
That’s totally fine.

00:13:31 Michelle
Just trying to get an idea of how people find out about the internship in the first place as well.

00:13:36 Michelle
If it’s like a friend of a friend telling you, or you saw it on a job board or.

00:13:40 Mya
Yeah, totally.

00:13:41 Mya
I.

00:13:42 Mya
That it was also given to us via, like, the internship that I was part of, center for Environmental Biology.

00:13:49 Mya
I think that it was emailed to us.

00:13:51 Mya
I do know that there were multiple avenues where I got, like, the application for it, but I mostly found out about it through Jen.

00:14:00 Michelle
Okay, good to know.

00:14:02 Michelle
I will also relay that. We are at our final question.

00:14:05 Michelle
So you’ve been flying through them.

00:14:07 Michelle
We have time to spare.

00:14:10 Michelle
The final question is, what would you say to someone who is currently considering applying to this program?

00:14:16 Mya
I would say, you know, definitely apply, because I actually have a few people at my job who are interested in applying.

00:14:23 Mya
And I was like, absolutely apply.

00:14:25 Mya
If anything, like, I’m a strong advocate for applying for things.

00:14:29 Mya
Just so you have that practice and you have that under your belt, definitely.

00:14:33 Mya
And just telling them, like, how collaborative it is.

00:14:36 Mya
And I also think one thing that’s really great about this program is that you’re given a project and you’re given a little bit of guidance, but you really have to figure out what it is exactly that you want to do.

00:14:48 Mya
You have to create your own timeline.

00:14:50 Mya
And just like that, project management is so incredibly helpful.

00:14:54 Mya
And it gives you so much confidence, too, to be like, wow, I can do a project from start to finish.

00:14:59 Mya
I would probably say, you know, like the collaboration, project management, super duper helpful.

00:15:06 Mya
Being able to connect with potential places to get jobs, connecting with people in the area that are also in conservation is super great.

00:15:13 Mya
Just to know, like, where.

00:15:15 Mya
What’s next for me.

00:15:16 Mya
So, like, all of those things, I would say, you know, that is what the internship can give you and that.

00:15:22 Michelle
You should definitely apply everything about it, basically.

00:15:25 Mya
Yeah, pretty much.

00:15:27 Michelle
But, yeah, that’s all we have planned today.

00:15:29 Michelle
Thank you for having this conversation with us.

00:15:32 Mya
Yeah, thank you.

00:15:33 Mya
Thank you so much for reaching out to me and yeah, thank you for this opportunity.

00:15:37 Mya
Super exciting.