A few weeks ago, I traveled to Reno, Nevada for an office retreat. It was the first time I’ve ever been out west, before this trip the furthest out west was Tennessee. I was fortunate that through this internship I’ve been able to travel further and more frequently than I ever had before. On the first day, we went to visit the forest and talk to field staff as well as partners in the area. The partners spoke to our office about some challenges they face, success stories and future plans. Hearing from partners at the sites that they have done work was an amazing experience and demonstrated how partnerships are impactful in the communities and forest lands. 

During the trip I was able to strengthen my relationships with those in my office as well as meet a lot of new people. On the second day we discussed the work that our office accomplished and future plans for our office. We also heard from a partner in the area that focuses on empowering youth of color with culturally relevant programming in the natural and built environment. They shared recent stories of introducing youth to the forest and what support they need from the Forest Service in order to reach more people in their community. 

The rest of the trip was composed of networking within our office and learning the new organizational structure of our office. I was fortunate to meet some of the Resource Assistants of my cohort as well as meet with new cohort. Within our new organizational structures we discussed our strategic planning for the upcoming year and challenges of this year, I’m excited to see what comes out of it.