30 May Salvador Ornelas

My name is Salvador, and I’m a proud 23 year old Los Angeles native. This city has allowed me to experience a multitude of diversity from culture to nature. It’s amazing to be able to attend a Chinese festival, eat Ethiopian food, take a swim at the beach, see a live mariachi band, and see the night stars from the desert all in one day. As much as a I love my city and everything that it offers, it’s time to experience and learn new things. This summer, through a partnership with the Environment for the Americas and the Hispanic Access Foundation, I will be interning at the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park in Astoria, Oregon. My duties will include interpretation, community outreach, and content curation. I feel ready to not only share my experiences but to learn new ones as well. I never envisioned myself working in the outdoors, in fact it was the farthest thing from my mind. Like the majority of immigrant families, I never had the opportunity to go hiking, camping, or do anything outdoorsy while growing up. It was in college where I was fortunate enough to visit several national parks which allowed me to create a connection with the outdoors. Now I’m in a position where I have access to both the natural world and the underserved community world. I want to be able to close the gap between nature and the people who have limited access to it or think that it’s not for them. I want to be a bridge builder of the outdoors. This experience as a Latino Heritage intern will undoubtedly help me in that goal.