Hello, my name is Samuel Kauffman and I am honored to be a part of the VetsWork Program and a prospective Mt. Adams Institute AmeriCorps Intern. Before I get into why I decided to become an Mt. Adams Institute AmeriCorps Intern, I would like to tell you a few things about myself. Originally, I am from Oklahoma and I spent the majority of my childhood and early adult life there before I enlisted in the military. I served in the United States Army for about eight years, and during that time, I was deployed twice to Afghanistan. After I left the military in 2019, I moved to Hawaii with my family to attend college, where I studied Natural Resources and Environmental Management. However, due to COVID I put my full-time college life on hold and found a job working as a contractor for the Department of Veterans Affairs while attending school part-time. When I am not at work or school, I try to spend some time outdoors by going on hikes or to the many beaches near my house. I decided to become a Mt. Adams Institute AmeriCorps Intern for several reasons, with one of them being the opportunity to get experience working in my dream career field. It took me a while and a lot of soul searching to realize that I want to make a career in the environmental sector, but one issue I was faced with was getting experience in that area, as I really did not have any. Once I found this program and found out it could provide me with that experience I knew I had to join. I also decided to join because I have always wanted to do something like being an AmeriCorps Intern. Before I joined the military, I was looking into joining the Red Cross or Peace Corps, as I wanted to help contribute to society in some manner. Therefore, for me to be able to be an AmeriCorps fulfills that prior wanting. What is exciting too about this whole experience is that I get to meet new people and start a new adventure in my life.