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As an educator and an environmentalist, I strive to make nature accessible to others and integrate nature into daily experiences. Through my internship with the Carmel River Watershed Conservancy (CRWC), I was able to learn from an organization that is doing just that. Carmel River Watershed Conservancy works to, “balance environmental protection and the diverse needs of the Community. This is accomplished by exemplifying integrity, inclusiveness, education and mutual respect.”

During my internship with CRWC, I assisted with classroom education trips. This gave me more experience in the classroom executing environmental lessons. I also worked to match the existing CRWC curriculum to the California Next Generation Science Standards. This complimented previous work I’ve done with these standards while interning at Amigos de Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach.

This was a lesson for me in selling my marketable skills and applying previous experiences to assist a new organization.

I obtained this internship opportunity through a connection with a fellow classmate that was working with them. This highlights the importance of networking to find meaningful professional experiences. Most of the projects I worked on for CRWC were related to my previous expertise. For example, the experience I had with the Next Generation Science Standards. This was a lesson for me in selling my marketable skills and applying previous experiences to assist a new organization. Overall my experience with CRWC provided me with further knowledge and development in my desired career field and will be valuable as I move forward from MIIS into the next stage of my life.