19 Aug Career Workshop: Done

Hello there, these past weeks have been a real shift in momentum. Here is how it happened…

As scheduled, National Park Service partners Environment for the Americas and Hispanic Access Foundation, held the LHIP Career and Professional virtual workshop in early August. Normally, the event I am referring takes place in Washington DC and interns from across the country meet and spend a week at the Department of the Interior. Logistics include talks, interns present their work and their helpful contributions to the parks. 

This year was different and best of all, it took place! I assisted the FIRST LHIP virtual workshop! I had the opportunity to experience a variety of events from meeting successful figures in the federal career world to being involved in yoga/meditative training sessions- I enjoyed those lol-another exciting thing was that the LHIP team got to meet Angelou, an important book author, social activist and even a poet. Before LHIP interns presentations day, I can assure you I was nervous, a zoom meeting with 60 people online and the speaker was being highlighted in all of the participants screens!! Anxiety had a role to play. Due to my name starting with the letter “Y” I was LITERALLY the last presenter. With that in mind, I was thinking most of the people would be tired from being bombarded with job details, contributions and park descriptions. I gained a spark of confidence following that line of thought (wink wink). My time was coming up. I had practiced 700 times in my mind, practiced with EFTA staff (thank you Susan and Sheylda!) and I was about to do my first ever virtual professional presentation…and I totally aced it! After that, I felt accomplished and relieved. I was able to enjoy a memorable conversation with the LHIP Alumni panel learning about the different approaches when facing adversity and different backgrounds. With the help of the speakers, the time together virtually, you could tell the interns connected successfully and I can now say I have new friends. 

On a side note, sitting behind a computer screen and attending virtual conferences for 4 days, 8 hours + was exhausting. Not because you are in the same place for long periods of time, it’s because my attention span would get smaller by the hour. For someone like me, who wants to be immersed in what is being provided, it felt something was lacking. Nonetheless it was great to be part of such an organized event and the opportunity to experience things differently.