What are your main responsibilities in your position? What are some of your big projects? (This can include projects at your internship, your specific CAP project, etc.)
For my internship this summer, my responsibilities depend on the department that I am working in at that time. During the internship, every 2 weeks I will be working alongside a different department in the NRCS and completing set tasks and projects within them (2 weeks with Partnerships, 2 weeks with Public Affairs, 2 weeks with Management and Strategy, and 2 weeks with Civil Rights/Special Emphasis) Within all these departments, I will be learning the importance of conservation, and how it has evolved into what it is today. Working within different departments will also allow me to Connect with staff all throughout NRCS and how their work pertains to the goals and mission of the NRCS.
Along with interning at the NRCS – Madison office, my CAP project will be working with the Climate Initiative. By taking on this project, I will be collaborating with other CAPAL interns to showcase the intersection between the climate crisis, youth, and the AAPI community.
How does this internship fit with your professional and career goals?
Being a rising sophomore, I am still working on solidifying my professional and career goals after university. But I know that this internship will help me build on the ideas I have for my professional and career goals and what path that will take me on. From what I know now, this internship fits with me knowing that I want to focus on research on various topics such as conservation and one-day work as a civil servant. Also, this internship fits my current goal of working to help different communities with different issues they may face. Further, this internship fits with my developing professional and career goals of researching topics I may be unfamiliar with and discovering what can be improved in a set department or idea. Lastly, working at the NRCS – Madison office will help me learn about the professional and career goals that I should be making for myself, and how I can further work on them throughout the rest of my educational career. I am looking forward to what I will learn this summer!
What do you hope to achieve this summer as a part of CAPAL’s 2022 cohort?
As part of CAPAL’s 2022 cohort, I am hoping to achieve growth in my knowledge of public service. I hope to achieve getting to know the other members of the cohort, and discover what all can learn from one another, as we all come from different backgrounds and are serving in different internships this summer. Moving forward, I am also looking forward to learning about increasing the AANHPI’s community presence in public service, and further advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Lastly, I hope to achieve growing knowledge in how to properly do research for numerous topics, network with various staffers in CAPAL, and learn what I can take back from this experience to Michigan State University in the fall.
What does public service mean to you? What sparked your interest or desire to get involved with public service?
I think the beauty of public service is that it means something different to every individual that is involved and that it impacts varying communities in numerous ways. For me, public service means not only aiding an individual but also taking the time to learn more about that community and work for overall improvement. As for what sparked my interest and desire to get involved with public service? It is hard to pinpoint an exact time, as I’ve volunteered at different places and organizations since I was in middle school. For me, what pushed me to get further involved in public service was doing the research on what public service from an individual can do for a community, and why it is significant that we all take part in it if possible. Now, I want to do as much as I can for different communities and issues falling under public service and show others why it is vital to stay educated and involved with what is going on in the communities you are a part of.