JORDANN STEPHENSON - MARESA INTERN
Last spring as a junior at Marquette Senior High School, a teacher of mine encouraged me to make the best decision for my academic career to date: applying for an internship.
I remember turning in the application at the last minute, feeling lucky about my chances, and even luckier when I got the email with my location assignment to UPLC. I was so happy to be placed somewhere that perfectly aligned with my interests and teach me about the world of conservation.
Now a year later and about to graduate high school, I can confidently say my time here at UPLC has been the best "class" I've ever taken. In the first month of this internship, I got to go into the field for a day of property monitoring. All the UPLC staff visited the Indian Lake Reserve and Peshekee Headwaters Reserve, and spent all day hiking around the property. I remember as we were sitting by the lake for lunch, I thought, 'I can't believe I get to be here for school credit right now.'
For two hours a day this year, I had the opportunity to predominantly run the UPLC social media pages, design graphics for events and meetings, and learn basic office skills. Not to mention the people I've gotten to know this year through this internship. They are directly responsible for the new knowledge I have about conservation and non-profits, and for fostering my interest in working in this field in the future.
I am so thankful I got to spend so much time here at UPLC, and I feel it's not so common to find an organization that is so driven, caring, and thoughtful in both its people, and its actions.
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