By Shaylee Marks, Student Conservation Intern – Summer 2024
Starting the Student Conservation Internship, my interpretation of conservation was that I would be outside, in the fields, wetlands, and farms, learning about the ways to make the environment healthier. However, before I was ready to take on the outdoors, there were a few skills I had to learn and practice. Building professional skills, such as proper introductions, networking with a variety of people, taking notes, and resume building are skills that would be helpful to me.
I was a Student Conservation Intern (SCI) based at the Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). I worked with Bri Styck, Executive Director, and Laura Floyd, Educator. The first meeting I attended as a SCI was a Soil and Water board meeting. This was the first time I had the opportunity to practice introducing myself. This was the hardest part, as new people are intimidating to me, especially when they are older and have been a part of Soil and Water for much longer than I have. I was told to have confidence and not be shy, despite me feeling the complete opposite inside. After I introduced myself and explained a little about what I had been working on during the internship, I realized it was not as scary as I created it to be in my mind. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start. I would have plenty more opportunities to improve.
Attending the Soil and Water board meeting also allowed me to network with different members of the county. The SWCD board members are made up of people from a variety of backgrounds, that all care about soil and water. Networking allowed me to learn about even more opportunities in conservation. For example, I talked with members of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), whom are federal employees that partner with different organizations to improve conservation. I liked the idea of federal, state, and county employees all working together to complete common goals.
During the board meeting I was asked to take notes because I would later type the meeting minutes. The minutes would then be sent out to the board members before the next meeting for review. I was really nervous to do this at first. I was unsure of what to write down, and to what extend I needed to go into detail in my notes. Before then, I didn’t have a great idea as to what written meeting minutes entailed. Despite my uncertainty, and a lot of help from the other interns and Bri, I created the minutes for the June board meeting! Taking notes is a skill that is helpful when attending any meeting.
In the internship, I also worked on building and improving my resume. Between attending the Student Leadership Academy hosted by Purdue Extension and working with Gus Nyberg, DNR, I was able to develop a more specific resume. I learned how to gear my resume to fit whatever the position I may be applying for. Along with my resume, I created a cover letter, which I have never done before. This was really helpful, as I am certainly going to have to write them in the future, whether it be for a job, internship, or other opportunity.
My experience as a Student Conservation Intern was about the outdoors, but also way more than that at the same time! Along with experiencing conservation duties, I learned about the professional side of careers. These skills will be applied in every job I hold.
