“While performing so many varied tasks in such a short period of time it sometimes felt as if I was not doing very much in any one area. Looking back, though, I’ve come to realize how much I accomplished while participating in this internship and I feel a sense of pride in all I’ve done. This internship has given me so many new experiences staring with my first fishing experience, giving interpretive nature presentations to refuge visitors, and helping me overcome my fear of speaking in public. It has also given me the personal experience in dealing with wildlife in the wild instead of just the classroom or laboratory. Coming from Chicago, this is something rare.”

Alicia Guzmán
B.S. in Zoology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Location: DeSoto National Wildlife Reserve, IA

Jeramie Strickland was placed by NCSE into the National Fish & Wildlife’s internship program. His field work in the Savanna District of the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge focused on habitat conversation and reconstruction for the endangered Blandings Turtle. Far exceeding the biological field work scope of his internship, Jeramie provided leadership, education, and a solid framework for project continuity. NCSE is particularly proud of this dynamic environmental leader who has been, in the past, a mentor and a member of the Board of Advisors of NCSE’s EnvironMentors Program.

Jeramie Strickland
M.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Iowa State University
Location: Upper Mississippi Refuge, IL

The Missouri River has the dubious nickname “Big Muddy”. Wing-Yi Kung interned at the Big Muddy National Wildlife Reserve. Her work involved invasive species identification, indigenous species survey, and habitat evaluation using GIS and ArcMap technologies to conduct baseline studies on geographic boundaries for existing populations.

“12 weeks at the Big Muddy, working with some of the region’s best ecologists and wildlife managers has given me direction for my life and career – starting with a graduate degree in wildlife management and a career path in conservation.”

Wing-Yi Kung
B.S. in Biological Science, Binghampton University
Location: Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge, MO

Steven worked his 2009 summer internship learning to track animal populations using radio telemetry, triangulation, global positioning, and computer mapping. His experience was highly “hands on”; more of a practicum than a formal training– the very nature of an internship as experiential learning.

“The Career Intern Program with NCSE and the US Fish and Wildlife Service has fueled my desire to create a system of Natural Resource Accountability; that being to make all decisions about natural resources with the long term view in mind and to be accountable for our consumption actions and decisions.“

Steven Tyler Pires
B.S. in Environmental Technology, North Carolina State University
Location: Shiawasee National Wildlife Reserve, MI