Alyssa the intern will be missed
Alyssa (right) and FMR Stewardship Coordinator Karen Solas at a Gorge Leadership Team buckthorn pull in the Longfellow neighborhood this November.
When Alyssa Neeb first walked into the FMR office to interview for a fall events and outreach internship position, she was dressed so nice and sparkly we worried she might not be too keen on digging in the dirt or pulling spotted knapweed. When I mentioned I would be doing exactly that later in the day, Alyssa happily exclaimed, "Ooh, fun! I love pulling weeds!" Ah, music to our ears! As it turned out, this young lady had quite a wealth of experiences with ecological restoration, amphibian surveys, and water quality monitoring. She is just as comfortable in a tie-dye FMR t-shirt and hiking boots as she is in a fancy top and heels.
A junior at the University of Minnesota studying Environmental Design, Alyssa is participating in the HECUA (Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs) Environmental Sustainability program. As part of this semester-long program, students study current natural resources and public policy issues, participate in a community-based research project, and work 2-3 days a week as an intern with a local environmental organization. Alyssa's main project with FMR was to survey participants of our 2008 volunteer, educational and interpretive programs to learn the impact their experience had on them, and get input on ways to improve and enhance our programs. To gain her own perspective on FMR's programs and the participant experience, Alyssa began her internship by assisting at a variety of events buckthorn pulls, rain garden workshops, oak savanna tours, seed collecting you name it, she has now done it! Alyssa was incredibly helpful with checking participants in, setting up and taking down equipment, and hauling lots of tools.
Alyssa is quite possibly the most positive person on the planet. No matter what task we asked for her help with, her response was always, "I'm excited!" She seemed just as excited to do data entry as she was to collect seed from native plants or paddle the river gorge. We've realized this is because she possesses the wonderful ability to recognize the place even small tasks have in the bigger picture of the work we do at FMR, and how that data entry work eventually does help us better care for the Mighty Mississippi. The energy Alyssa brings, both to stewardship events along the river and to days spent working in the office, is phenomenal and refreshing. What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that this wonder woman somehow juggles her internship with being a full-time student and working lots of late hours at an off-campus job.
As Alyssa's semester and internship here at FMR come to an end, we want to extend our sincere thanks for all her hard work, dedication and the great contributions she has made to the important work of engaging the community in the care of our natural resources. The Mississippi is lucky to count her among its friends!