Where are you from?
Denver, CO
Where do you attend school? Share with us the city/town, what you are majoring in, and what your academic interests are?
I attended the University of Colorado – Boulder where I earned a B.EnvD. (Environmental Design), a B.A. in Political Science, and a certificate in Peace and Conflict Studies.
I am currently enrolled in my last semester of the M.S. program in Historic Preservation at the University of Colorado – Denver.
What are your career goals?
I intend to serve and support the conservation of cultural and ecological assets in whatever capacity the opportunity arises. My interests span the gamut, and learning new things keeps me engaged.
Outside of school and work what are your hobbies and/or interests?
Outside of school and work, I spend much of my time listening to NPR while making home repairs, gardening, mending clothes, and exploring urban landscapes. My interests, however, also include interpersonal interaction, musical expression, genealogy, and cats.
What is your internship project focus? Explain what you will be doing, which parks/partners will you be working with? Who is your mentor at the Olmsted Center?
Based in Richmond, VA, with the mentorship of Tim Layton, my internship focuses on preparing Cultural Landscape Inventories for the NPS Cultural Resources Inventory System (CRIS), including conducting historic research, in-field analysis, documentation, and written narrative.
Why did you choose to participate in a Designing the Parks Internship? How is your internship hosted?
I chose to participate in a Designing the Parks Internship hosted by the National Council for Preservation Education for the opportunity to reinvest the knowledge I gained from previous NPS internships back into cultural landscapes from which it derives, particularly those illustrative of warfare’s wretchedness. I also appreciate the potential to augment my cultural resource management education.
What are you looking forward to learning or exploring during your internship?
I look forward to learning more about and exploring all things Central Virginia. My previous introduction to area has only catalyzed my curiosity about its ecology, history, and culture(s). As a genealogist whose ancestors participated in the Richmond-Petersburg campaign, I also hope to learn more about the American Civil War at the human scale and as experienced from more marginalized perspectives.
What types of opportunities will Designing the Parks provide you with?
Designing the Parks offers a myriad of educational and training opportunities available to employees, partners, and associates of the National Park Service from which I may benefit personally and professionally. Designing the Parks also facilitates frequent interaction with a large cohort of peers and NPS employees from whom I may learn, with whom I may collaborate, and to whom I may look for assistance and support, not to mention the inherent personal payout of connecting with likeminded people and being in community.
Designing the Parks 