08 Aug Making connections, sharing memories
From the scenic views and the meaningful connections, my time with War in the Pacific has been an absolute journey and experience. This position has allowed me to fully understand myself and conquer some of my fears. In this instance, feeling more confident in the national park services workforce and my ability to show what I’m capable of. I’ve had the opportunity to meet different individuals from various parts of the world and feel more involved within the local community. Not only have I met different types of visitors that have attended our park, but I’ve had the privilege of joining a team that has my best interests at heart and that I could also consider life-long friends/mentors.
Below is a picture of my supervisor, Kina Lewis and the secretary of interior Deb Haaland
It was difficult for me having to choose between one influential individual as there have been many people that have influenced me during my internship. My supervisor, Kina Lewis is a strong and empowering chamorro woman that has inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and truly immerse myself in the chamoru culture. I truly feel honored to have this opportunity to work alongside her as she is someone who I inspire to be someday. Not only is she chamoru and a pacific islander, but her ability to look out for the welfare of her team has truly shown her strong leadership during this typhoon time. I’ve learned a great deal about what it means to be a leader and how to be confident in myself.
Ranger Shannon
Baylee
Ranger Shannon taught me a lot about being confident with myself and to not worry about the smallest of things. Her personality shines in our workplace that not only the staff recognizes but also the community as they stop by our museum with a warm welcome from Shannon. By observing how she manages to multitask with different organizations that reserved presentations from her while also assisting other visitors has been truly inspiring
Baylee is also an intern at War In the Pacific National Historical Park and has done well by applying her leadership skills during her workshops. By helping assist her during her workshops, I was able also to apply this during my time here.
Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of Ranger Rufus, but I learned a lot about his culture and we’ve had conversation previously as he shared his wisdom with me in regards to pursuing my dreams working for the Park Services someday. Mr. Rufus and his wife are both skilled pacific weavers that I had the opportunity seeing their craft. The highlight of all this was having the chance to see the cultural artifacts from the War World II which gave me a different perspective of what life was like during this time.
(YCC Interns learning how to throw Talaya) Kinta
From the other fellow interns I’ve learned from such as Kinta and the YCC program, they have been a great deal of help wanting to be involved with my workshops and eagerly wanting to learn more about the Talaya. With their help, we’ve been able to host successful workshops. I’ve also learned a great deal from Ms. Janine, who takes care of our bookstore. She has taught me a lot about management and has given me great advice life advice. Janine has been a wonderful influential person as she has also shared with me great ideas to use for future workshops.
Favio Guzman is another intern from our Share The Culture program .This summer, Share The Culture is about immersing and teaching the community about the chamorro culture. Favio has not only been a great team member, but he also been a good friend. He has truly pulled me out of my comfort zone and has allowed me to be confident within myself. His ability to learn a new skill quickly weather that’d be weaving or art blocking has been amazing to see. Not only is he a skilled artist but he is an amazing program coordinator that I’ve had the chance to collaborate a workshop with.
I am truly going to miss this amazing team that I’ve had such a great connection with and will continue to reflect on their guidance that they’ve taught me.
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