“To me, friendships are like family. It doesn’t matter if they’re far away or close by, I genuinely love and care for each of them.”

“I’ve always considered myself a fairly observant person, but with a mind that is constantly jumping from thought to thought, my time with SLCS and LRCC has taught me to truly take in all that is around me.”

“My time here has progressed and evolved somewhat like seasons.”

“‘I have fallen in love with places before … by falling in love I mean that the places changed me’ (Susan Fox Rogers). I knew within the first week of being here that I would either have a hard time saying goodbye to this camp or I would not say goodbye at all.”

“With conservation I’ve learned there is always a massive amount of work to be done. It’s overwhelming. There is so much we all should be doing in our day-to-day life; it’s easy to get discouraged feeling like one person could never truly make a difference.”

“While trail maintenance can certainly be a fulfilling time for many people, I have discovered that it is not a career that I would want to partake in for an extended period of time.”

“This endeavor has opened up a world of possibilities I never expected, and feel more than ready to tackle whatever the world throws at me next. So for that, I thank everyone involved in the last year of my life, it has been ‘more fun than a frog in a glass of milk’”

“Trail work has taught me to slow down and appreciate parts of the natural world that I hadn’t before.”

“Having spent my previous five years as a software engineer, I had a lot of uncertainty and doubt about going through such a drastic career change. But after my first year in the broad field of environmental science, if given the option to go back in time and choose again, I can safely say I absolutely would make the same choice again.”

“I definitely would not classify myself as a free spirit, or someone who takes life day by day. Anyone who knows me knows that I thrive off of planning, lists, and knowing what I am doing long before it is time to do them.”