My name is Aaron. I'm a married father of 5 wonderful children. My wife and I both brought children from previous marriages and somehow managed to create one little one ourselves. They range in age from 2 to 13 so the house is always a circus. I was born in Portland but grew up in Vancouver, WA. I...
With just under a month left of my Forest Service internship with the Recreation Department on Mt. Hood’s East Zone, I feel hopeful about my natural resource career path. I feel I have a better understanding of recreation management and the work it takes to keep a healthy balance between...
The last few months working as a Rec Tech (recreation technician) at the Homochitto National Forest through the AmeriCorps VetsWork Program has been a whirlwind of activity that’s been educational and lots of fun. I was lucky enough to have my first week of work coincide with the reopening of Lake...
Here at the Savannah River Forest, my fellow Mt. Adams VetsWork intern and I have spent the last few months filling in as the primary operators of one of the site’s phytoremediation facilities. The Savannah River Site has several such facilities that utilize different methods of remediation. Our...
The Mississippi heat can be a bit unbearable at times, but getting to help conserve threatened species and work with the individuals I get to work with on a daily basis makes it worth it. During the months of May and June, I got to help multiple agencies within Mississippi and Louisiana go on the...
I am five months into my internship working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and I am loving it. When I started in my position as a Salmon Habitat Restoration Specialist, I didn’t have a strong background in marine biology or related education. I expected to be conducting...
During my time here, I have covered a wide variety of tasks, from trail work to community events and public outreach. Some of my favorite things to do are to explore all the new places and find everything that no one has touched in years and bring it back to use. Attending and hosting community...
"NOAA partners with several groups to recruit, hire, and support veteran interns throughout Washington, Oregon, California, and Alaska. In 2023, we have several interns supported by one of these groups, Mt. Adams Institute. This Washington-based non-profit is dedicated to providing diverse...
As a Recreation Resources Technician on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Randle, Washington, my main job is to conduct dispersed campsite inventories. A dispersed campsite is basically anywhere that the national forests are that anyone can camp just about anywhere. The only problem with a...
The year started off slowly but that gave me plenty of time to get familiar with Juneau and Forest Service systems. I had great opportunities to gain some GIS familiarity, learn about the mines that we work with, learn about the culture and history of southeast Alaska, and so much more. ...
The last few months working as a Rec Tech (recreation technician) at the Homochitto National Forest through the AmeriCorps VetsWork Program has been a whirlwind of activity that’s been educational and lots of fun. I was lucky enough to have my first week of work...
Here at the Savannah River Forest, my fellow Mt. Adams VetsWork intern and I have spent the last few months filling in as the primary operators of one of the site’s phytoremediation facilities. The Savannah River Site has several such facilities that utilize different...
The Mississippi heat can be a bit unbearable at times, but getting to help conserve threatened species and work with the individuals I get to work with on a daily basis makes it worth it. During the months of May and June, I got to help multiple agencies within...
I am five months into my internship working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and I am loving it. When I started in my position as a Salmon Habitat Restoration Specialist, I didn’t have a strong background in marine biology or related education....
During my time here, I have covered a wide variety of tasks, from trail work to community events and public outreach. Some of my favorite things to do are to explore all the new places and find everything that no one has touched in years and bring it back to use....
“True stability results when presumed order and presumed disorder are balanced. A truly stable system expects the unexpected, is prepared to be disrupted, waits to be transformed.” Tom Robbins This year, Mt Adams Institute has been seeking stability. The organization...
I have thoroughly enjoyed my AmeriCorps service term with MAI and USFWS. This has further affirmed my desire to work for USFWS later on in my career. While I don’t feel like a full-time USFWS position is directly next in the cards for me, I am grateful to learn of...
For better or worse, I often end up diving into life-changing decisions with no expectations of what will happen. That’s how I ended up taking a NOLS course that led to a passion for outdoor education and how I transferred to a college out west and began studying...
The back half of the season at Conboy Lake has been wrapping up well. While everyone is feeling a strong sense of completion and a job well done, I can tell everyone has grown really fond of each other, and there is a bittersweet feeling of all of us going our...
I’ve spent the past six months as an Americorps intern working for a trail crew in the Forest Service, and I can easily say that it has truly been the most fun chapter of my life so far. The season went by so fast that it’s hard to believe we actually accomplished...