Jordan Vena

How will attending AGU advance your academic and career goals?

I hope that the AGU Fall meeting will help me further my career goals. My main objective here is to expand my network of researchers, stakeholders, and other possible employers. This will be my first time meeting with other scholars and academically-minded individuals outside of the University of Santa Cruz. It will also be my first time presenting my work and research outside of a formal classroom setting. I want to make a good impression on the representatives of environmental agencies and institutions who are interested in my poster. Ideally, my presentation will allow me to make meaningful connections with them during the meeting, which might open up new career paths and opportunities for me in the near future. At the very least, this meeting will help me establish my credibility as an earth scientist within the scientific community. It will also be a good chance for me to learn from my fellow students and peers who will soon be entering the environmental workforce with me. I am interested in learning about the other interns’ experiences working with their respective organizations. Hopefully, their presentations will give me an idea of the type of work available for recent graduates in the Earth Science field. Plus, what I learn here might help me decide what vein of Earth Science I would like to explore in the future if I pursue higher education. Overall, I hope this experience will provide me with much-needed exposure to a variety of new career paths.

What have you learned so far in your internship? (week 3 update)

My internship with San Diego Port Authority has been going well. The project managers I have been working with for the past few weeks have been very straightforward with me. When it comes to my tasks, I have been getting fruitful feedback about the quality of my work. In addition, communication with my supervisors has been transparent. I have developed more experience with effective collaboration and correspondence through our daily meetings and emails. My confidence in speaking with my bosses and coworkers has grown since I joined the team. I have also gained a greater understanding of monitoring and making observations within the environmental science fields. As for the projects I have been working under, the work itself has been going quite smoothly. Our findings concerning raptor bird nests and invasive species at the Chula Vista Sweetwater bike path are well within the Port’s expectations. So far, I have been able to identify several different species of plants and animals near the bike path, two of which are invasive, using the Inaturalist app and camera on my phone. Raptor bird sightings occur often. However, the Port has already recorded the only two raptor bird nests within the area. I identified the invasive flora as Crown Daisies and Crystalline Ice Plants. Their growth and spread are manageable and currently not a severe threat to the ecosystem. The other project I have been on, monitoring turbidity at Kellogg Beach, will soon be finished. The contractors were able to finish adding sediment to the beach without a hitch. This short-term beach nourishment plan will serve as a temporary stopgap until the Port can implement a more long-term solution to prevent Kellogg from eroding.