My practicum experience was far from simple. From finding the best internship for me all the way to the end was quite a challenge. Although the knowledge that I gained will be something I'm going to draw from for a lifetime.
From the beginning of finding out about practicum and the requirements, I knew I wanted to do an internship. I love learning from people, and it's an opportunity for me to gain experience in the fields I want to work in. I learned later on you can't just get an internship on a whim, especially as a freshman or rising sophomore. So while struggling a little bit, I found an opportunity through a fellow scholar and jumped right into it. Which proved to be not the best idea since it wasn't really related to my field and I didn't particularly find it fun. I realize then that it's best to be more selective when it comes to internships even if your options are limited. Since if you don't enjoy what you're doing, it makes your job ten times harder.
Thankfully I had another opportunity that I gained through just being in the student lounge for my major and talking to someone one day. They were faculty and graduate students in my major, and once I mentioned that I was in that same major, they asked if I had any internships or planned to obtain one. One thing led to another, and I was able to work for one of the faculty researchers of the geographical department for UMD. This interaction also introduced me to my major's specific blog that consisted of scholarships and even more internships. Once given a name and a link to her request on my major's blog, I sent an email containing a brief introduction and my resume. After talking with my supervisor about my roles and responsibilities, I was locked in. Which was so exciting, since it was my major and something I was generally interested in. It involved technology and software programs as well as environmental impact. I mainly used ArcGIS and two satellite programs to observe any crop fires and, alongside a predictive model, mapped out crop fires in different states or countries. It was a fun experience because I got to use these programs and apply them to a specific goal. I also learned how complicated tracking surface carbon emissions can be. Through certain modeling and sensors, you can track the amount of carbon in our atmosphere, but it's a lot harder to track where it's coming from. This project made me aware of it since this is a research study funded by NASA's initiative of tracking carbon emissions. The project really opened my eyes to the capabilities that GIS has and its applications in environment-related problems. As for me personally, my self-management and communication skills were challenges. I had to be on top of my work and did my best to ensure she got her dataset on time. I also had to initiate a lot of the communication among my coworkers or my supervisor. Since we weren't in one general location and most communication was with Zoom, email, or setting up a time to meet in advance for in-person meetings.
In all honesty, the work I did on the site really solidified my goal of continuing in the GIS, or geographical science, career field. I mainly picked geology as a major because I had a couple good geology-related classes and got really interested in that field. Although for geographical sciences, I mainly picked it because I heard some stuff about it when I was first coming into UMD. I thought I could really just use the technology or technical skills from geography to look better for any geology career I was planning on. Since I had course space, I had it as a dual major, but I might actively pursue a more GIS-heavy career and use the science I learned from geology instead. Since I really enjoyed what I was doing, the more I learn about geographical careers and applications, the more interested I become in a geospatial, environment-focused career.
So if I have any advice for freshmen first getting started with their practicum, it would mainly be. Do what you like because just doing this practicum to get the citation or just get it over with is kind of a waste. There's so much you can learn just by being in the field that you're a little interested in. It can turn your little interest into full-blown passion, but if you just pick a random internship or something that isn't something you like, you're kind of just there. Yes, there are some things you can learn even if it's not particularly your field, but if you can get into something that you already have a slight interest in. This becomes such a great opportunity to learn more about your field and even about yourself.
Although I do understand the struggle of trying to find an internship as a freshman or fresh sophomore. It takes a lot of talking to people and networking, which was something I wasn't remotely good at. So I would encourage the new generation to start using your online resources like Handshake and your advising from your personal major and the Career Center; even asking other scholars can definitely help in that search for a practicum internship.
This overall was such a wonderful experience, and it kind of pains me that this would be my last reflection for Scholars. I generally want to thank Dr. Mark and Dr. Holtz for guiding me these two years and being such a constant support throughout the program. I know this may be an overused sentiment, but my last and I think most important advice would be to cherish the moments you have in Scholars. For me, I've never experienced something like this program, and it now has a spot in my heart that I don't think anything else can fill. I have grown to love Scholars, and if you fully embrace and involve yourself in the program I'm sure a new generation of SGC scholars will too.