Knowing: An Internship Reflection

Hello Fellow River-Lovers,

I'm popping in for one last blog post as Missouri River Relief's Education Assistant Intern. It's been a wild ride since I started in May, so I'm going to take this opportunity to reflect on my experiences.

I began this internship before my spring semester was even over. I stayed up all night finishing a paper so I could turn it in early and head to Kansas City for my first weekend on the job and my first river clean-up. Before I even had time to breathe, I hurriedly packed my bags, brewed one last cup of coffee, and hustled out the door for the 2018 Kansas City Teacher Workshop and River Clean-Up. 

Here’s what I knew in that moment:

1. I knew that this was a cool opportunity. I mean… how many internships involve camping along the Missouri River with a full view of the Kansas City skyline?
2. I knew that I was lucky to have this internship, especially because I’d never had one before, and I knew I had a lot to learn.
3. I knew it might rain on Saturday.

Here’s what I didn’t know in that moment:

1. I didn’t know how many river dogs I would meet throughout the summer.
2. I didn’t know how long an 8-hour work day really is.
3. I didn’t know I’d meet the most incredible kids at Missouri River Academy, or that I’d still be missing them when summer ended.
4. I didn’t know how hard the staff at non-profit organizations work just to make ends meet.
5. I didn’t know how refreshing River AC could be, or that sunsets are prettiest when watched river-side.
6. I didn’t know about wing dikes or the Steamboat Arabia or the lifecycle of a pallid sturgeon.
7. I didn’t know how intense my Chaco tan would get.
8. I didn’t know how to post to Facebook Live (oh wait, I still don’t…).
9. I didn’t know how much I enjoyed teaching kids about the natural world.
10. I didn’t know I would fall head-over-heels in love with the Missouri River and Missouri River Relief.

That’s a list of things I didn’t know when I started this internship, but that I know now. The list of things I still don’t know is much longer (so long it’s kind of scary), but here’s the thing: this internship, and Missouri River Relief as a whole, has got me so excited to keep figuring out what I don’t know, to jump into new experiences, to never stop learning, to crank up the river AC and embrace my weird. And for that, I’m eternally grateful.

I wish words could convey the way my heart swells as I write this. I wish words could convey my gratitude to Kristen (the Education Director of Missouri River Relief) for taking me under her wing, for always teaching me, for being patient and wise and funny and someone I’ll look up to for the rest of my life. I wish words could convey how much I’ll miss this when it is gone.

Of course, words don’t get the job done (they never do!); so I resort to pictures, a firm believer in the power of visuals. These are some of my favorite shots I’ve taken throughout my internship. I hope they more adequately convey the emotions that my words can’t.

Kansas City Teacher Workshop and River Clean-up:

This was one of the first photos I ever took for MRR. It’s crazy how the time has flown. I packed my bags for KC, I blinked, and then summer ended!

I was awestruck at my first river clean-up. The crew worked like clockwork in the way they gathered, tallied, and disposed of all the trash the volunteers had gathered earlier in the day. 

Sunset Excursion:

This event was awesome because 1. We got to be out on the river as the sun was setting and 2. I got to mess around with my camera and take fun pictures like the whole time!

I loved watching Kristen do what she does best all summer: teaching! With every program, I learned countless things from her, and I’m so excited to see how she’s going to continue growing Missouri River Relief’s education programs.  

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: sunsets are best when watched river-side.

Missouri River Academy:

I grew up going to summer camp, and my camp memories are some of the happiest in my life. I was overjoyed when I learned that I’d (technically) get to go to camp again this summer through Missouri River Academy!

One of the coolest parts of River Academy was watching the kids pursue their own passions. Seeing their faces light up and listening to them ask engaging questions about subjects they were interested in brought me so much joy. 

This was one of many scenic Academy views.

It was a hot day for a prairie walk but plant identification in the shade made up for it. 

I’ve learned from Kristen’s presentations that our section of the Missouri River is unique and that other parts of it look completely different. That makes me grateful for views like these but it also makes me want to explore more of the Big Muddy.

During the Academy sunset cruise we did some reflection activities. Kristen was authentic with the kids and they were authentic back to her. It was such a real moment and everyone felt connected. I’ll never forget it.

The kids were told to explore a stream and find an animal to observe in their cup. This was the result and the kids were so captivated!

This photo was taken before the MDC treated us to an Asian Carp dissection and organ identification. Some kids loved it; some kids hated it. I, for one, couldn’t get enough!

Being able to see (and photograph) live Pallid Sturgeon was awesome for me, especially because we bring preserved Pallid Sturgeon in jars with us to every education program! 

Only at river camp do your campers bring you Asian Carp eyes and hearts. Such a sweet gesture!

STEM Challenges:

For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on creating videos to introduce some STEM Challenge lessons Kristen has developed. The project put my journalism skills to the test and was so enjoyable for me. My favorite part of the assignment was going out to the river to gather b-roll footage. Even though my aim was to shoot video, I couldn’t resist capturing some photos too. I could’ve stayed out there with my camera all day.

Missouri River Relief: thank you, thank you, thank you a thousand times more from the bottom of my river-loving heart. 

The following two photos were not taken by me, but I am in them and they’re some of my favorites. I had to include them because I think they capture pivotal moments in my internship. 

These are only half of the kids who attended Missouri River Academy, but every kid who went has a special place in my heart. It was the best week!

This another shot from my first weekend with Missouri River Relief. In this moment I was giddy with anticipation for the rest of the summer and the rest of my time with MRR. Reflecting back, I can say that my internship more than exceeded my expectations.

This reflection has been all about knowing; what I knew, what I didn’t know, what I still don’t know. So along the lines of knowing, here are some things you, the next summer intern, should know before you start at River Relief:

1. Test yourself to see how resourceful you can be – google is a valuable resource. Try and exhaust all options before you ask Kristen questions. Doing that will make you more confident, clear, specific, and concise if you do end up needing her help. You’ll find yourself googling silly things like “How do I edit my signature in outlook” or “How to send a professional email to another business” and it will all be worth it in the end.
2. When helping people into boats: no matter how many times you tell people to get in from the side, they will still get in from the front. SO, position yourself strategically. You stand in front of the boat, close to the side from which people will get in. That way people will be forced to get in from the side. Put your hand out in front of you over the boat to help people in.
3. As soon as you’re offered the job, start thinking about what you want to learn throughout the summer. I think the MRR staff asked me that question at least 5 times on my first day, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to tell them. They do such a great job of tailoring your internship to you so that you can get the most out of your experience. I told them I was a journalism major who wanted to spend her life communicating about the environment in some capacity, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like. They immediately gave me blog posts to write, photography assignments, they had me organize their working media lists, I pitched a story to a magazine, and they had me work on some graphics and design for them. It was all a blast, all such good stuff to put on my resume, and it was so unique to my desires and interests. I don’t think every job will put your needs/wants first like that, so take advantage while you can!
4. If this is your first office job, figure out how you’re going to adjust to working in an office for forty hours each week. I definitely struggled with this in the beginning of my time with MRR, especially in the late afternoon hours and especially on Mondays and Fridays. Here’s what I did that helped: I did the hard stuff first – the stuff I was least excited about or that I knew would take the most brain power. I did stuff that involved movement or little brain power after lunch and right before the end of the day. I also kept a notebook near me to jot lists down as random thoughts popped into my head. Sometimes these thoughts were MRR related, sometimes they were not, but either way, getting them on paper and out of my head helped me be more productive in the long run.
5. The rest of the staff is busy so they won’t follow up with you about everything. It’s your job to push your projects over the finish line, even if it seems like no one else is really involved or still pursuing them. It might seem like you’re annoying the staff, but in the end they’ll thank you for doing the stuff they’d never have time for. This will be the way you can have a lasting impact throughout your internship. If you don’t tie up your loose ends they’ll just be passed on to the next intern; try and avoid this.
6. Enjoy every minute of it, even the hard stuff and the long days, because before you know it Kristen will be asking you to reflect on your experiences and all you’ll be wanting is one more week, one more day.

Words of Wisdom to The Next Education Assistant

In the summer of 2017, Missouri River Relief was blessed to have Leif Nordstrom join the ranks as full-time seasonal education assistant intern.  At the end of his positions, we asked Leif to share a few “words of wisdom” to the next education assistant.  

The Missouri River Academy, one of MRR's major events of the year

To the Next Education Assistant Intern,

SPLASH! Wake up! You’ve fallen into the Missouri River with no life jacket, no boat, no help, and it’s up to you to make it back to shore. This scenario might be analogous to the feelings you experience during your first day as the Missouri River Relief (MRR; get used to that acronym, it’s going to come up ALOT over the course of the next few months). This is completely normal, so take a breath, and remember where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going.

For me, working as the MRR education assistant was the first ‘office job’ I had ever had, as I spent my years as an undergraduate working in the food industry. Admittedly, I was very nervous on my first day. What helped me the most was reflecting on these thoughts: where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m going. As I’ve discovered in life, self-awareness is critical to success, so acknowledging my past experiences as well as my ambitions for the future helped me by bringing my unique collection of skill-sets and experiences to the forefront. Then I took a breath, settled into my new office job, and put those skills to work.

I would like to present the next education assistant with a challenge: over the next few months, you will spend each day working on something different. Now, you can view this challenge in two ways: an inconsistent annoyance, or a unique opportunity for growth. While you won’t be doing something entirely different each day, this challenge represents an ideology that will be helpful to ascribe to, both at MRR and in life. View each day as a new opportunity. As you’ll find in the Words of Wisdom bullet points below, I ask you to always be moving, both mentally and physically. This is a method that I picked up while in the food business, but can easily be translated to work in an office, and resonates with this ‘new day’ ideology.

To begin each day, look over your projects list and identify what you think is the most pressing. This will change regularly, as your work is going to be built around upcoming events, with a few long-term projects peppered in-between. For example, if there is a multiple-day education event happening within the next two weeks, you will likely be working on preparing paperwork, gathering materials, or writing a press release. After you’ve picked a project, dive right into it. The reason the Education Coordinator chose you as the intern is because of your talents, and one of the greatest benefits of the job is the freedom you are afforded to utilize your unique skills to create, so don’t neglect your intuition when working on projects. That being said, you should keep an open mind, as a more complete work will be found through collaboration with the Education Coordinator and other MRR staff, which means incorporating outside ideas and editing.

While the goal of the projects list is to establish your independence – in other words, so that you don’t have to bother the Education Coordinator every second asking for things to do – I like to check in with the Education Coordinator a few times a week, and at least ask them what they are working on for the day. This is an informal way to get familiar with the type of work the Education Coordinator does, but also an opportunity to get to know them better. I recommend you see this job in two ways: an opportunity to learn professional skills in a unique setting, but also the chance to meet some really friendly people. Take time to get to know both the Education Coordinator and the other MRR staff; they want to get to know you.

The Educator Workshop, another one of MRR's major events of the year. 

As the Education Assistant, your primary focus is MRR education. This includes two major events: the Educator Workshop and the behemoth, also known as the Missouri River Academy. Both events will require a great amount of preparation, and you will help the Education Coordinator to carry out these events, assisting in various ways, such as taking pictures, setting up for meals, serving as a deck-hand, and more. Much, much more. The greatest advice I can give regarding these events is to stay calm, and always be present. You won’t always be in the forefront and in fact, you will spend most of the time in the background. But always be doing something, and keep an eye out for any way that you can make Kristen’s job easier.

In addition, keep notes on what can be improved and what you think has gone especially well. This internship is a two-way street: you are helping MRR, but they are also helping you. The Education Coordinator sees this internship as a great opportunity to teach and help you grow as a professional so the Education Coordinator will be challenging you, and asking for your thoughts and recommendations.

Now let’s get down to the brass tacks, there are a few things that I learned along the way as well. 

•  The meaning of ‘Schlepping’. – The physical action of moving items up, down, and around from one place to another. Usually involves stairs, sweat, and multiple trips. When schlepping, keep in mind that after you have schlepped items to one place, you will eventually have to schlepp them back.
• When traveling to an MRR event where you will be camping, ensure that you are adequately prepared. This includes - but is not limited to - a raincoat, boots, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, extra shoes/socks, and a tent.
• Take 15 minutes to talk with MRR Staff about tying knots. Practice these… they will prove VERY useful as a deckhand.
• Be prepared to serve as the MRR ‘head of culinary operations’. Duties include chopping watermelon, slicing Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, and schlepping coolers of food.  As head of culinary operations, it is imperative that when picking up a HyVee online order, always remember to check that ALL ITEMS are included.
• At times, you will be required to drive an MRR vehicle and tow an MRR boat. When doing so, remember that your turns should always be wide.
• When ordering food for 123 people, do not hesitate to greatly exaggerate the serving size presented on the container.
• When posting on the River Notes blog, make sure that you have ‘filtered’ your text through a simple processor (notepad) and always upload photos using the Blogger website. NEVER copy and paste pictures into Blogger.
• When possible, use resources you can already find in the office. The office bookshelf or the Education Coordinators book collection can provide some great information.
• When using files from MRR file sharing service, make sure that others are not currently making changes to that document. This will create a duplicate file and can be very confusing.
• When packing shirts for the Academy, check that the sizes are not youth sizes (unless you want them to be).
• Before, during, and after an event, always make sure that the MRR camera is loaded with batteries, including at least one set of back-ups.

As with all things in life, there’s only so much I can tell you, and you’re going to learn best through experience. Take whatever aspects of this short narrative as you like, but I ask you to remember one thing: be excited! You’ve been given a great opportunity as the MRR intern, and if you view the next few months through that lens, you’re going to walk away with a tremendous experience.

View this job as a challenge to show that you can swim, even with no life jacket, boat, or help; give it your all, and I assure you that you will make it to shore with a sense of great accomplishment and satisfaction.

So, with that, I wish you good luck, and I’ll see you on the river!

Sincerely,

Leif Nordstrom

2017 Education Assistant Intern

To learn more about Missouri River Relief's internship program, visit www.riverrelief.org