Working with the USDA (Forest Service) was an incredible experience. I met many new people and strengthened relationships from last year’s externship. The backgrounds of the different professions were as diverse as last year, including Archeologists, Fish biologists, Wildlife biologists, Botanists, Civil engineers, Hydrologists, Fire and Heli teams, Forestry, and others like Political Science. Similar to last year, I continued to engage individuals and learned the different paths taken to get to where they are in their professions. I continue to bring these stories back to the classroom to inspire students and to guide their interests.

Something new I learned was that most seasonal summer jobs require students to apply in the fall or winter months of the year before the job becomes available. To tackle this problem will be an ongoing process and yearly commitment to help bring awareness to these early/beginner STEM jobs.

I continued to gather information on many different lab techniques and processes that would be useful in the classroom. I learned many new ways to gather data and monitor the forest. I will continue to incorporate these techniques into the classroom and help enrich students’ experiences with outdoor labs.

One of my new experiences included using drones to 3D map the Wapiti drainage system. Unfortunately, this system is currently on fire. However, because of drone technology, we have great data to compare the before and after effects of fire on the hydrology system and have a visual record of all the streams plants, and trees.

I also helped to design several experiments and enhanced my R coding skills to develop new survey techniques for gathering post-fire data in the field.

This opportunity is invaluable. A continued thank you to Idaho STEM Action Center and the USDA for this amazing and fulfilling experience. I believe that this second externship has provided even more real-life examples that will directly apply to and impact students in the classroom!