Growing up in southern California I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by public lands. Whether it was National Forests, National Parks, or State Parks the outdoors were never too far. This was heaven for me, as a child I was fascinated by the natural...

Hey everyone, I’m supper excited to say that I will be a Cave Technician intern this summer with the National Park Service at El Malpais and El Morro National Monuments! Raised in Southern New Jersey most of my days were spent working on my uncle’s...

Hi all! I’m at the start of my third week here! The snow in Lodgepole has mostly melted, and while the snow was nice to see, I’m hoping it doesn’t come back. However, we are at high elevation, so my hopes may not be realistic....

Hi Everyone! My name is Citlali Villarreal, and I am an intern for the 2019 cohort of the Latino Heritage Internship Program. I am from Galveston, Texas, studying as an undergrad at Rice University in Houston, Texas. I will be working for the National Park...

My project for this summer is to present educational talks to youth, ages 13-19, from the In My Backyard Program. Each week, I will be presenting a different 10 minute talk relating to climate change. In addition, the students will have a new theme each...

During this summer I am going to be working on a project at the Homestead National Monument of America as an intern for the Latino Heritage Internship Program (LHIP) in collaboration with Environment for the Americas (EFTA). After spending a weekend camping at the Californian...

My first week at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park has been great! On my first day, I got to walk around the park and get familiarize myself with the area. In addition, I had the opportunity to work on a flyer promoting a Spanish...

Hi Everyone, my name is Jhulian Gutierrez! This summer, I will be participating in the 2019 Latino Heritage Program as a Visitor Services Intern at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site. I was born in Miami, FL and was raised in both Florida and Texas. although...

As a young WOC, a fancy office job was only but a far fetched dream to me. Since I was 16, I have been working in fast-paced, minimum wage jobs to support myself and my family. To me, these jobs did not seem temporary, simply...

My name is Natalie Matias and I was born and raised in Hialeah, FL. As a young girl, my dad and I drove around natural and historic parks across South Florida whenever possible - weekends, holidays, birthdays, special events, etc. This activity, paired with my...

Hello everyone! My name is Marisol Morales and I am going to be an Interpretive Intern at Kings Canyon National Park this summer! I was born and raised in Southern California. Growing up, despite living in a beautiful environment, I didn’t really know much about...

The summer I turned 22, I drove across the country. I saw the green rolling hills of Appalachia, the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the American Desert all for the first time in the span of two weeks. Oh man, what a sight! How...

As an urban dweller transitioning from a concreted urbanized landscape to large forest canopy cover is surreal. Being among the forest and its wildlife inhabitants is a different experience where you become with nature at its realest form. My backyard is known as Sequoia and...

Greetings! Let me tell you a little about the sites I have been working in for the past several days. My first day was spent at the Lodgepole subdistrict of Sequoia and Kings National Parks (SEKI). I attended the CPR training held that day at...

Made it to Seattle! I am immediately overwhelmed by an influx of happiness and adventure that overcame me once I stepped off the airplane. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical park is an amazing place to visit and work at, because it is rich in history...

Hola everyone! My name is America Avila and I will be an intern for Salem Maritime and Saugus Ironworks National Historic Sites for the 2019 Latino Heritage Internship Program associated with the National Park Service (NPS) and Hispanic Access Foundation (HAF).  I was born and...

Hi there, My name is Jonathan Ignacio Tejeda and I am a graduate student attending California State University, Northridge majoring in geography. As I have just completed my first year as a graduate student, I embark on a wonderful internship opportunity this Summer. This Summer...

Hi Everyone! My name is Citlali Villarreal, and I am an intern for the 2019 cohort of the Latino Heritage Internship Program. I am from Galveston, Texas, studying as an undergrad at Rice University in Houston, Texas. I will be working for the National Park...

Beginning later this summer, I will be working as the resource monitoring and communications LHIP intern at Dinosaur National Monument. Dinosaur is 200,000 acres spanning Eastern Utah and Western Colorado. It is of course named for its abundant dinosaur fossils from the late Jurassic period....

Hey everyone! I might be a little late on the blogging posts but más vale tarde que nunca! So, here it goes. My name is Evelyn Maldonado and I am currently studying Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Maryland. I was born in...