My Journey

When I first came to SIUE I was confident in my future plans. While I still bounced around when it came to determining my passions, I felt set in my major and the opportunities it could bring me. While I hadn’t ever really considered majoring in Geography I saw the love my dad had for the subject and hoped I could find the same in it. I thought that I wanted to work in the conservation field and figured that geography would be one of the best ways to get there. 

As soon as I got on the SIUE campus I figured I would try and pursue that idea of a future in conservation and work with an organization that focused on it. At the SIUE CODE’s first-day event where we met our sponsors, I was struck by the passion of one specific community partner. When she spoke about what got her into conservation I thought of myself and my own ideas. She told us about how when she was a kid her parents would have to fight with her to get her to come inside from playing and I remembered running through my grandparent backyard as a kid. After listening to everyone talk I decided to approach her, Dr. Mettler Cherry the director of planning and strategic initiatives at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center. 

By the next week on campus, I had an interview at NGRREC for the position of communications intern under Jen Young, NGRREC’s former media specialist. Although it wasn’t what I originally anticipated for my first job in conservation, I knew it felt right. Media/communications work was something that I always seemed to come back to, having served numerous positions focused on it since middle school. It was something I was confident in, enjoyed, and wanted to learn more about it. 

By the end of the first month on campus, I was starting to question my major/ what I actually wanted to do. I had started all my classes and was beginning to figure out which ones I liked and which ones I didn’t. I loved the CODES classes and loved World Regions, but I didn’t really enjoy Physical Geography as much as I thought I would. And most confusing of all, I was in love with sociology. I hadn’t really ever heard of it before and was shocked when it felt right. Their way of thinking, the questions asked, it all made sense to me. It clicked with my brain and it was covering things that I had been asking for my whole life. The idea of looking at the whole problem and how society adds or subtracts to it made so much more sense than the idea of each person for themselves. The whole field of sociology felt like it was calling to me.

By the end of the second month on campus, it was almost second semester class selection time and I finally felt like I had cracked more of the code. I knew that I needed to take more sociology classes before I graduated. While I enjoyed some of the concepts we covered in geography I didn’t know if it really called to me in the same way that sociology did. When it came time to meet with my advisor I knew that I didn’t quite want to give up on Geography but I also knew that sociology felt right and I had to at least attempt to pursue it more. 

Throughout my second semester at SIUE I feel like I did nothing but make progress towards my goals for the future. Even though second semester felt pretty uneventful I feel like it helped me begin feeling more secure in my future goals. This semester I have had to opportunity to explore more of my passions and possible future career opportunities. Not only did I get the opportunity to continue and once again extend my internship at NGRREC but I was also able to take classes that focus on my interests.

Over my first summer at college I was given the fantastic opportunity to live on campus and intern at NGRREC with the rest of my CODES Cohort. There we were able to gain a better understanding of the true scope of what NGRREC and its interns did. It gave us the opportunity to network with other students interested in conservation along with thoroughly experience NGRREC’s different departments. We were able to do everything including help with summer camps, explore wetlands, go on a boat trip to experience the Mississippi Missouri confluence, help redesign established NGRREC programs, and even script a tour series for NGRREC’s social media. I feel like this summer gave me a great opportunity to better understand what exactly is expected in an internship experience and how to lean into leadership roles.

During my first semester of sophomore year I was able to learn even more about what passions make me. This semester gave me the opportunity to take my first art classes since 5th grade, and oh how I missed it. Since middle school I have been so focused on my academic pursuits that I allowed myself to forget about my less scientific passions. During this semester I was able to pursue both drawing and ceramics for the first time in an advanced classroom setting. I immediately fell back in love with this creative side of me, loving the power that the pen and the clay gave me in terms of building. This led me to declare a minor in studio art with a focus in 3D/Ceramics.

Now as a second semester sophomore I feel like I’ve learned so much at SIUE. I’ve learned how I can make the best out of my passions while also perusing something that I feel I could be happy in for the rest of my life. I feel like I’ve really made SIUE into my home away from home with a strong support network that I know I can rely on. I also feel like these first two semesters at SIUE have helped me become more confident in how my work now can help lead me to my future career or even life goals. I know that conservation, saving our planet and our people is important to me, I know I love the outdoors, I know I love Geography and Sociology,  I know I love art of all kinds, and I know that one day I will be able to make a career for myself combining all of these.

I can’t wait to see where the rest of my time at SIUE, NGRREC, and as a student of our world will take me.