THE GREEN LEAF

Intern Achievements! 

Since March, we have had quite a few interns find full-time employment once their internships ended, and we would like to give them a shout out for their awesome accomplishments!  

Jeremiah Edwards, was awarded a full-time position in Florida with the Gulf Coast as a Park Guide for the Division of Interpretation. He started on August 30th. When asked about his experience, Jeremiah wrote this:

"My name is Jeremiah Edwards and I am from Snellville, GA. Everglades National Park is my first federal job where I’ll be a Park Guide. I started off as an intern for the Greening Youth Foundation at Minute Man National Historical Park and eventually made my way down to the Gulf Coast district as a GYF intern. I am thoroughly excited to work with everyone and really want to share the story of diversity within Everglades National Park. When I am not at work you can find me leading Bible studies, talking with my family, or working with arts and crafts. I am excited to meet and work with everyone while here." If you are interested in hearing more about him, Jeremiah was featured as our guest for the GYF Sip of Green Tea podcast series, found here. 

Peyton McCauley, a USDA Forest Service Resource Assistant intern working out of the Region 9 Regional Office in Milwaukee, recently transitioned into a full-time federal role! She is now a National Environmental Policy Act Planner working within the same office. Peyton’s role involves assisting with the editing and revising of a monitoring report for Monongahela National Forest. This responsibility ensures that the forest is in alignment with the intentions that were laid out in its forest plan. Peyton has also shadowed and assisted with the site's Litigation Coordinator. This is exciting because Peyton's career aspirations include attending law school.

Other interns who have found full-time employment include, Pablo Martinez, who was a Land Surveyor Resource Assistant Intern with the Forest Service at National Forests in Florida and now works for them as a Realty Specialist. (An in-depth view of Pablo's story can be found on our SGT podcast, which you can watch here!)

Dairon Diaz, an Information Technology intern working with the National Park Service in the Everglades, can also attest to full-time employment status.

Malik Robinson received a GS7 job appointment in South Carolina, while Cedric Ellis has claimed a permanent job as a Forestry Technician working at Conecuh National Forest in Andalusia, AL.

Last but not least, Christina Jesus Villanueva was a Biologist intern for the Forest Service at the International Institute of Tropical Forestry in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This quarter, she received a highly coveted SWITZER Fellowship, which is a competitive award for those dedicated to conservation. Read more about her work and biography on their website here!

We are so proud of all of our interns for elegantly representing GYF and working hard to accomplish their goals. We anticipate their continued achievements and elevation to uncharted heights. It truly warms our hearts to see a young, diverse generation taking up the mantle of conservation and preservation of our natural resources.  

Program Information    
 

This is Greening Youth Foundation's first year working with FUND  II and Park Foundation and the National Park Service on Intern X. Intern X seeks to address diversity and inclusion through providing this virtual program, where future leaders are created. The first cohort officially completed the summer program for five students in August. During the summer program, the students successfully completed SWOT analyses on their assigned park sites. This exercise will be paramount for future growth at the sites. We are excited to build new relationships with new partners, while giving students from diverse backgrounds opportunities with the National Park Service. Harriett Tubman National Historical Park, Lyndon B. Johnson National Park, Capital Park East, and the Archives and Library Science Division have all welcomed our interns virtually this summer despite our country current climate. We are gearing up to start the next cohort for the Fall with seven scholars that will lead the next wave of careers in Conversation.  

The Directorate fellowship Program(DFP), a National Program of the US Fish and Wildlife Services, successfully completed its first virtual program with twenty-three fellows this summer. The class consisted of a wealth of talent and diversity from over 20 states. Greening Youth actively recruited, vetted, and managed the cohort for the first time in 2020. We are proud to have managed fellows that are rising juniors, seniors, Master level and Ph.D's candidates from disciplines such as Environmental Science, Biology, and Natural Resources. The eleven-week fellowship is addressed the need of a creating future leaders for Fish and Wildlife Service. Although most of the program was virtual, two fellows worked in hybrid positions at the Ennis National Fish Hatchery, in Ennis Montana.

Urban Youth Corps Updates

Our Urban Youth Corps has been hard at work over the summer. We have been running land management and residential projects, while working with WAWA for trail and bridge training. AT UCTI, we have maintained vegetation in our Hoop House, growing produce for donations. We have also received recreational supplies in the form of clothing, shoes, backpacks and more for our annual Gear Drive. These items were shared with the Crew working at the UCTI and will be disseminated to GYF interns working in the field. With busy schedules and continued education and workforce development, we still mandate strict safety protocols to mitigate health risks. While the site remains closed to the public, UCTI is focused on preparing our site for future programming opportunities. 

 HBCUI Career and Leadership Workshop

GYF hosted the HBCUI Career and Leadership Workshop in July of this year. This was the inaugural year for the virtual format for the workshop, offering a week's worth of engagements and sessions. It was a well-organized, smashing success implemented by our project managers and staff. The interns had an excellent opportunity to interact with some of the most prominent, diverse speakers in the environmental field. Click here to see the full schedule of speakers and presenters. There was an abundance of wisdom and institutional knowledge available. GYF would like to issue a huge thank you to all of our partners, sponsors, and collaborators on this event. Additionally, thank you to all our staff and project managers who assisted and moderated the events, thereby contributing to the event's success.

(Videos and footage from the event will be available on our Youtube channel.)