Annual Look in the Rear View Mirror

Welcome to 2016!

If you recall, in December 2014 I set a goal to blog at least once a month during 2015, and I said we'd see how I did one year later. Well, I didn't stick to the goal, missing 4 months :( Hopefully I was able to convey everything that happened in 2015 with the blogs that I did write.

Here's the 2015 recap.

National Christmas Tree (White House in background)

I had a fantastic second semester to my senior year at Michigan Tech. I stayed involved with USG and Forest Guild, was an RA, and helped to start the Husky Food Access Network. I had the honor of being the student commencement speaker at my own graduation in May. I got a job with the National Park Service/Student Conservation Association in Washington DC and moved to a DC suburb in Maryland. Living/working in DC has allowed me to visit our nation's iconic places, including touring the white house. I have met the US treasurer, interviewed the National Park Service Director, seen the President/First Lady numerous times, and had the privilege to attend events at the White House, including seeing the Pope! In August I took a surprise trip home to MN to spend a weekend at the lake. I also got the opportunity to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Overall, this year has been a great adventure, with ample opportunities to go new places and experience new things!

DC Mayor

The last month of the year was relatively relaxed after the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony passed. The tree site was open throughout the month and we had volunteers staffing the site to tell people about the tree and the ornaments. I also had a few visitors in town, including a fellow CVA from FL and my friend Sophie from Michigan Tech. A professional lunch with someone from the National Parks Conservation Association and a conference about urban forestry in DC with DC's Mayor finished off my professional work for the year!

My Decorated Apartment 

It was then time for a road trip home to Minnesota! My friends Anne Marie and Eric joined me for the 1100 mile journey back to MN. We had a fantastic drive through every kind of precipitation. Being home for Christmas was a great way to spend the end of 2015. Family, friends, good food, the fireplace, snow, and Libby (our dog) are always reasons to go home :) I celebrated Christmas numerous times, as I was home for the whole week between Christmas and New Year's. The week included the usual appointments and then it was time to road trip back to DC. Anne Marie and my friend Jinan road-tripped with me, and we also got to see my friend Kevin in Chicago.


It was then back to work on the first Monday of the year. However, my friend Jinan was in the area for the week and we had a great time seeing the sites, visiting the museums, and having fun! Some highlights included the Newseum, which I hadn't visited before, walking Georgetown, and visiting Great Falls Park. Another highlight of Jinan's visit was going to Delaware to Dover Air Force Base where our friend Sophie is an officer. Sophie gave us a tour of base, including the flight line. We got to go inside a C-17, the second largest aircraft in the Air Force (It was huge!!). We saw the cockpit, saw the back open up, and got to stick our heads out the top of it. It was so cool!

Overall, 2015 was a great year and the start of 2016 hasn't let me down. So far this year I've already been in 8 states and DC! Here's to a year full of fun adventures and seeing where life takes me next!