After working at Northern Tier for their winter program I returned to Michigan Tech for the second semester of my third year. As stated in the last blog, I was offered and accepted a Resident Assistant (RA) position in Powerhouse hallway of West McNair Hall. It was a good semester and a nice change up from living in Wadsworth hall for the prior two years. This hallway was all first year males which made for a different living experience than years past.
This past semester fostered many great memories of which I will list a few here:
- Fun times with the McNair staff (multiple meals at applebees, end of the school year shenanigans, etc.)
- Winter Carnival the family came to visit!
- Broomball!!
- Celebrate the UP! event and staying involved in local environmental organizations
- Getting myself, once again, involved in the Undergraduate Student Government. I was elected as a fourth year class representative for the 2014-2015 academic year.
- Attended lots of academic speakers, film showings, and panel discussions
- Served on the SFRES computing committee
- Lots of snow!!
- Running
- Helping start the Forest Guild Student Chapter. I currently serve as the Public Relations Officer.
- Visiting local schools and teaching environmental education was lots of fun!
- My intramural bowling team (Anna, Bill, Katy, and I) were the IM bowling spring semester champions!
So, moving ahead, here are a few other things to note.
I was rehired as a Resident Assistant for next year and I will be returning to TreeHouse in Wadsworth Hall! I'm excited to be back in my "home" and I am looking forward to next school year!
Recently I have been getting into highpointing, or the hobby of visiting the highest point in a "something." I have been going to various state high points. "How did this start?", you ask. Well, as many of you know already I was offered and accepted a Visitor Services and Conservation Education Intern position at Brasstown Bald Visitor Center in the north Georgia mountains! Yep, as in the state of Georgia! Brasstown Bald happens to be the highest point in the state of Georgia. But, before I get into my summer details, a few more notes on high points. So I have visited six thus far. In chronological order...Mount Arvon (Michigan), Timm's Hill (Wisconsin), Hoosier Hill (Indiana), Clingman's Dome (Tennessee), Sassafras Mountain (South Carolina), and of course, Brasstown Bald (Georgia)! I should also note that I was 3/4's of the way up Mauna Kea, Hawaii's highest point, last year when I went to Hawaii, but I didn't have time to get to the top
:( So I'm going to say I've been to 6 and 3/4's :)
So, the school year finished before I knew it and my 4.0 semester was completed. My residents all left, end of the year activities (banquets, exams, spring fever, etc.) consumed my life, and just like that I was headed home!
I was home for a few days and they were spent like most other days at home...unpacking, cleaning, and repacking. I also made a few new purchases which included a new tent and a new backpack! I'm pretty excited to use them this summer and in the future!
And just like that it was road trip time! Kayla and Dad joined me for the road trip to Georgia. It was lots of fun! We went to the high points of Indiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina during the road trip. We also stopped and saw Aunt JoAnn and cousin Joleen as we passed through the Chicago area. After three days in the car and two night of camping we finally arrived at Brasstown Bald, the place I am living and working at for the summer. I live and work at the top of a mountain....SO COOL!!!
In short, I work at the visitor center, manning the information desk answering questions about the area, local attractions, etc. As an intern, I am working on a few special projects for Brasstown Bald. These include increasing Brasstown Bald's presence on social media, creating a junior ranger program for Brasstown Bald, and putting together a few guided nature walks (programs). As an intern I also help out with special events. We haven't had any yet, but things such as Smokey the Bear's 70th birthday party event and having local experts (botantist, geologist, etc.) come and visit are also part of my job. As an intern I am also given the opportunity an exposure to how management of a national forest is conducted through shadowing various people. None of these days have occurred yet, but many are scheduled. I'm looking forward to meeting some people and understanding a bit more about what they do for a living.
So that's what I do. I work Wednesday through Sunday, with Monday and Tuesday as my "weekend" and days off. Work is from 9:30am to 5pm, so the schedule is pretty nice. No 6:30am mornings like the Boy Scout camp :) Also unlike camp, here I have an apartment that I share with the other intern, Claire. We live in the basement of an old fire tower, which sits at the top of the mountain. It is pretty cool! I have a bedroom an bathroom to myself and then we share a living room, dining room and kitchen. Check out the photos!!
The view from up here is great and I have done lots of exploring. I have hiked a few of the trails in the area and have been acquainting myself with local attractions (restaurants, lookout points, waterfalls, etc.) so I can give more personable information to visitors that ask. This is how I have spent my days off. A few of my favorites include going to Jim's Smokin' Que, the best BBQ place around, hiking the Jack's Knob Trail and seeing Pink Lady Slippers, hiking the Arkaquah Trail and seeing a Timber Rattler Snake, and going to many, many waterfalls! Claire and I also got the opportunity to go to Brevard, North Carolina to our company's main office. We met lots of people and also got to see a few other sites that our organization, the Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association, manages. On our mini one day trip to Brevard we also stopped at Looking Glass waterfall and a few other scenic lookouts.
Phew! Ok, well, that is the EXTREMELY condensed version of my life over the past six months. I have posted LOTS of photos so please be sure to look at those. A picture is worth a thousand words :)
A few other things to mention....
- Congratulations to my younger sister Rachel for graduating from high school at Hill-Murray this past Friday! Rachel graduated as one of the top ten academic achievers in her class and I couldn't be more proud!
- In mid-June I will be attending the Forest Guild National Conference in Burlington, Vermont along with a few other students from Michigan Tech. This year's conference is mostly focused on carbon sequestration and carbon offsets...should be fun!
- The internship here in Georgia last until the first week in August. I will then be home for a brief time and then off to school again to start my RA training and my last year of college...yikes!
I hope all is well in your world! I wish I could see you all more often :( I think of you all often. Wishing you a wonderful summer, from atop the highest mountain in the state of Georgia.
Love always, Kyle
:( So I'm going to say I've been to 6 and 3/4's :)
So, the school year finished before I knew it and my 4.0 semester was completed. My residents all left, end of the year activities (banquets, exams, spring fever, etc.) consumed my life, and just like that I was headed home!
I was home for a few days and they were spent like most other days at home...unpacking, cleaning, and repacking. I also made a few new purchases which included a new tent and a new backpack! I'm pretty excited to use them this summer and in the future!
And just like that it was road trip time! Kayla and Dad joined me for the road trip to Georgia. It was lots of fun! We went to the high points of Indiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina during the road trip. We also stopped and saw Aunt JoAnn and cousin Joleen as we passed through the Chicago area. After three days in the car and two night of camping we finally arrived at Brasstown Bald, the place I am living and working at for the summer. I live and work at the top of a mountain....SO COOL!!!
In short, I work at the visitor center, manning the information desk answering questions about the area, local attractions, etc. As an intern, I am working on a few special projects for Brasstown Bald. These include increasing Brasstown Bald's presence on social media, creating a junior ranger program for Brasstown Bald, and putting together a few guided nature walks (programs). As an intern I also help out with special events. We haven't had any yet, but things such as Smokey the Bear's 70th birthday party event and having local experts (botantist, geologist, etc.) come and visit are also part of my job. As an intern I am also given the opportunity an exposure to how management of a national forest is conducted through shadowing various people. None of these days have occurred yet, but many are scheduled. I'm looking forward to meeting some people and understanding a bit more about what they do for a living.
So that's what I do. I work Wednesday through Sunday, with Monday and Tuesday as my "weekend" and days off. Work is from 9:30am to 5pm, so the schedule is pretty nice. No 6:30am mornings like the Boy Scout camp :) Also unlike camp, here I have an apartment that I share with the other intern, Claire. We live in the basement of an old fire tower, which sits at the top of the mountain. It is pretty cool! I have a bedroom an bathroom to myself and then we share a living room, dining room and kitchen. Check out the photos!!
The view from up here is great and I have done lots of exploring. I have hiked a few of the trails in the area and have been acquainting myself with local attractions (restaurants, lookout points, waterfalls, etc.) so I can give more personable information to visitors that ask. This is how I have spent my days off. A few of my favorites include going to Jim's Smokin' Que, the best BBQ place around, hiking the Jack's Knob Trail and seeing Pink Lady Slippers, hiking the Arkaquah Trail and seeing a Timber Rattler Snake, and going to many, many waterfalls! Claire and I also got the opportunity to go to Brevard, North Carolina to our company's main office. We met lots of people and also got to see a few other sites that our organization, the Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association, manages. On our mini one day trip to Brevard we also stopped at Looking Glass waterfall and a few other scenic lookouts.
Phew! Ok, well, that is the EXTREMELY condensed version of my life over the past six months. I have posted LOTS of photos so please be sure to look at those. A picture is worth a thousand words :)
A few other things to mention....
- Congratulations to my younger sister Rachel for graduating from high school at Hill-Murray this past Friday! Rachel graduated as one of the top ten academic achievers in her class and I couldn't be more proud!
- In mid-June I will be attending the Forest Guild National Conference in Burlington, Vermont along with a few other students from Michigan Tech. This year's conference is mostly focused on carbon sequestration and carbon offsets...should be fun!
- The internship here in Georgia last until the first week in August. I will then be home for a brief time and then off to school again to start my RA training and my last year of college...yikes!
I hope all is well in your world! I wish I could see you all more often :( I think of you all often. Wishing you a wonderful summer, from atop the highest mountain in the state of Georgia.
Love always, Kyle
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