18 Jun From Big City to Small Town

Hola a todos!

After some technical issues, I was finally able to access my account and am now able to introduce myself. My name is Elizabeth Garcia, but you can call me Liz. This summer I will be interning at the Homestead National Monument of America, located in the small town of Beatrice (bee-AT-riss), Nebraska, just south of Lincoln.

My whole life I have lived in the city of Tucson, Arizona. My mother immigrated from the state of Michoacan in the mid-1990s where she met my father, a third generation Tejano (with ties to Sonora and Aguascalientes). Since then, they have built a life in the Southwest that includes myself and my two younger sisters. I currently attend the University of Arizona, where I will begin my senior year when classes resume in the fall. I am a double major studying history and psychology, as well as a double minor in Spanish and anthropology.

I had never visited the Midwest prior to this internship, so arriving here was quite the experience. One of the things that has really stuck out to me is the vast differences in climate between the two states. Where southern Arizona is a dry desert, Nebraska is green and humid. Another thing that has taken some getting used to is the size of the cities. There are more than half a million people who live in Tucson, while the small town of Beatrice has a population of 13,000. Regardless of the differences, Nebraska boasts a beautiful scenic landscape that does not suffer from overpopulation. As far as the eye can see, green fields of corn or other crops line the horizon. Near the park’s buildings, prairies continue to grow untamed.

I want to thank Environment for the Americas and the Latino Heritage Internship Program for this amazing opportunity. I am excited to be able to spend my summer here, and I look forward to learning more about Nebraska, the Homestead, and the National Park Service.