Taran Snyder; a VetsWork intern Abstract VetsWork intern Taran Snyder, shares a couple of the stories and fun pictures of his first few scientific adventures out to the surrounding environments in southeast Alaska. The primary focus of these trips to the field were to clear fish...
Hi! My name is Armando Penales. I grew up in Los Angeles, but you can always find me at the beach or hiking in SAMO or Malibu. LA beaches are my go-to places when I need to relax and decompress. I’m a big music fan. I can listen to about anything, but recently I have been listening to a lot of...
Hello, I’m Kayden. I am currently studying to earn my BS in Environmental Science and will graduate in August 2022. My passion for the environment stemmed from growing up in Flint, Michigan, as most of my childhood was spent outdoors. Activities like Bass fishing, hiking, swimming, and roaming...
My name Is Kyle O’Brien and I was born in Long Island, New York. I grew up playing street hockey, riding my bike at the local BMX park, and going on fishing trips with my father. However, New York would only be home for so long as we moved down to North Carolina in the Winter of 2008. Upon moving...
I grew up in southern Louisiana, in a small town called Walker. I like to spend time kayaking and hiking. Though In LA there’s not much hiking, I hope to do more while in Virginia for this program. After high school, I attended college for a semester but I decided to leave and join the Army at 19....
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...
My name is Robert Alwood. I grew up in Gold Bar, Washington where I spent a large portion of my childhood outdoors. My favorite outdoor activities include backpacking, fishing, mountain biking, and trail running. Shortly after graduating high school, I joined the US Navy and served as an...
I was born in Missouri and attended high school across the Missouri River in Leavenworth, Kansas, where I graduated in 2015. Growing up, I enjoyed camping, Boy Scouts, cycling, canoeing, snowboarding, and school sports. My immediate family includes my parents and three brothers, one older. Growing...
Hi, my name is Damon. I am originally from South Carolina but have lived in the Pacific Northwest since 2016. I enjoy hiking and exploring Oregon's mountains, coastal areas, and high desert plains. I am a veteran of the U.S. Army where I served as a parachute infantryman with the 82nd Airborne...
Hi! My name is Taylor Cunningham, and I am from Omaha, Nebraska. Ever since I was a kid, I learned to love the outdoors through all sorts of activities. I served for nine years in the U.S. Navy as an airborne sensor operator, with most of that time being stationed in Whidbey Island, Washington....
After spending the past ten years as the Executive Director of the Mt. Adams Institute (MAI), I have decided to step away from the organization.. . . AND that’s a good thing! Let me tell you why. In the beginning, MAI was just an idea that stemmed from finding myself...
Mt. Adams Institute (MAI) is recruiting a new executive director. Current leader, Brendan Norman, announced his resignation effective May 1, 2022. Norman, along with MAI’s founding board of directors, created the organization in 2011. MAI, a nonprofit organization...
I realized pretty quickly after graduating from the University of Missouri - Columbia that an office job just wasn’t going to do it for me. Languishing inside during the most beautiful days of the year was just too painful for me to continue with. Then I found the...
The Umatilla National Forest (UNF) recently restricted access to the public due to unfavorable fire conditions. The unprecedented heatwave that washed over the Pacific Northwest in June set record-breaking high temperatures causing fire season to come early. Until the...
Greetings, welcome to the concise memoir of Patrick Ford, an AmeriCorps intern at the Andrew Pickens Ranger District (AP). Walk with me as I take you on a journey through the mountain range of South Carolina and the incredible time I’ve had while working with the...
This summer I truly feel like I’m the lucky one - I get to go to camp all summer long!After a very isolating past year filled with many uncertainties, I feel very grateful to be constantly surrounded and supported by a cohort of fantastic co-educators and campers....
The WREN office is located in the West Eugene Wetlands and a large part of our curriculum focuses on wetland ecology. Over the last few months, I have learned about the importance of wetlands: they improve water quality through filtering sediments and pollutants, they...
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” (Thoreau, 1854) It didn’t play out so eloquently in...
Howdy! In late May, I packed up nearly all of my belongings and traveled 2,200 miles to the Pacific Northwest. Little did I know that I could flourish and challenge myself in this new environment to develop different strategies to help campers get a better glance at...
Growing up, the seven Leave No Trace principles, accompanied with mnemonic gestures, were instilled in me as a set of reminders to guide my behavior both in and out-of-doors. As I got older, I learned the ecological and ethical basis for upholding Leave No Trace (LNT)...