This Intern Spotlight highlights Sylvia Guan, a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania, originally from Diamond Bar, CA. She is interning at the USDA Forest Service this summer.
What was the moment in your life when you realized you wanted to explore public service?
I realized I wanted to explore public service in the middle of my sophomore year in college. After my extreme dissatisfaction and frustration with my original pre-med plans, I decided that I should explore some different career options. As someone whose ultimate goal is to help others in some shape or form, I knew that I needed a job that would do just that. This is where public service comes into the picture. To me, public service seemed like an avenue to represent the people and become an agent of change. The CAPAL internship is a way for me to explore public service and further my own understanding and interest in this field.
What are your main responsibilities at your position? What are you looking forward to the most in your position?
I am a USDA Forest Service intern, stationed in the Mi-Wok Ranger District, conducting historical research on Chinese pioneers around the Gold Rush era, specifically sites and their contributions in other Northern Forests. My partner and I will write one page summaries for each site, take photos, and upload this information onto a website for the public to access and engage with. By compiling this information, we hope to write the untold narratives of these early APIA pioneers and dispel the “perpetual foreigner” myth that plagues our community. What I’m looking forward to the most in this position is finding these stories and giving a voice to a community that has been invisible and marginalized in American history. I am excited to play a role in writing a history that is truthful and free from prejudice. The other perk of this position is that I get to travel and see cool places I never could have imagined to exist!
Did you find anything surprising about your internship or doing public service work?
The most surprising aspect about my internship is learning about how the Forest Service operates. There are many specialized teams in this organization that allow the whole operation to run smoothly. I’ve been able to shadow different specialists, like botany and timber, who each record data on their respective field surveys, but this data will inform another team or branch about how best to preserve and maintain the forest. The botany crew posts up flags around noxious weeds or sensitive plants to warn those chopping down trees to avoid that area or for another team to spray the area with herbicides. Likewise, the timber team will mark trees that will be cut and sold for lumber after determining which trees are best to preserve for the habitat and its inhabitants to thrive. Each crew and arm of the forest service works independently but ultimately all these tasks mesh together to protect the forest and uphold its longevity. Seeing how the whole Forest Service operates definitely gives me a deep appreciation for nature and the dedicated individuals in this organization.
What motivates you?
I think what motivates me is my passion and desire to connect with and help others. I want to make some sort of impact on someone’s life and I’m willing to find a way that both fits my interests and my needs. It would be ideal if I could help my own APIA community in some way in the future as well. No matter how small the impact, I would be proud of myself if I lived out my own values and beliefs. Even though I don’t know what kind of impact I will be making and where, the idea that I will be able to in the future keeps me moving forward. Know that about myself, I don’t want to waste my time and energy doing things that I’m not passionate about and don’t align with this goal.
What is something that most people would not know about you?
I enjoy really bad puns. I’m also usually the one that will tell a bad pun and then laugh at myself because no one else will. I also snore very loudly when I’m tired.
When you get off work, what do you do? What are your weekend activities?
When I get off work, I like to read a book, watch Netflix, and cook a nice dinner before heading to bed for the next day. Because of my proximity to the forest, I have gotten the pleasure of seeing some beautiful lakes and majestic trees. There are also really cute historic towns that I have visited where I played mini-golf, mined for gold, dipped a candle, and fed goats!
Sylvia Guan, hailing from Southern California, is a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania. This summer, she is excited to be working with CAPAL and the USDA Forest Service in Mi-Wuk Village, California. At Penn, she co-founded the school’s chapter of Women SPEAK, which hosts discussions and dialogues around women’s rights and gender equity issues. Her most defining experience in college, thus far, has been the Asian Pacific American Leadership Initiative, in which she explored her identity as an Asian American and began to understand the issues prevalent in the APIA community. Sylvia is passionate about APIA and minority issues, gender equity, social justice, and helping others. Her interests include photography, writing, music/concerts, and food.
Meet all of our CAPAL Scholars & Interns here.
Posted by Felicia Wong
Felicia Wong is currently a senior at the College of William and Mary, double majoring in Neuroscience and Asian American Studies, and minoring in Biochemistry. She is president of the Filipino American Student Association, and current non-academic projects include creating films calling for diversity curriculums/requirements and establishing an official APIA Studies program. Felicia was also elected president of Global Medical Brigades to lead a sustainable healthcare program in rural communities in Nicaragua. She hopes to connect her interests in healthcare with the community she has found in her cultural background. Having lived in Germany for most of her childhood, Felicia makes yearly trips back to visit her family, providing opportunities for her to indulge in her greatest joys: touring castles, eating at cafés, taking fashion cues from strangers, cooking with her family. Non country-specific pleasures include: biking, watching live music performances, screaming because Game of Thrones.