Internship Site Spotlight 2019: Rachel Perry

Year 3 scholar Rachel Perry is completing her summer 2019 internship at the Cradle of Forestry in America in Transylvania County, NC. Rachel’s supervisor, Stephanie Bradley, says “We are interested in Rachel helping us to connect to the local rural community and use our garden as an outreach tool.”

What do you enjoy most about your internship? I really enjoy the freedom they’ve given me. I have my own projects and spend a fair portion of my time planning and executing steps to keep those projects moving forward.

What is the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome so far in your internship? What tools did you use to overcome it? I suppose the largest obstacle was finding where I fit with the staff. I’m a bit of an outlier in terms of my job description but I’d say the confidence and the support I’ve received from previous GLSLP experiences have allowed me to keep moving forward in both my internship and my projects.

What aspect or element of the Golden LEAF Scholars Leadership Program has been particularly helpful during your internship? The experiences from my past internships helped prepare me for this position. Last summer I had my own duties and I was expected to help with other obligations of the farm. That taught me about taking the internship on as a personal interest. In other ways, just being a part of the program helped prepare me for keeping things moving and taking things one step at a time.

How has your internship enhanced your ability to move forward in your field of study? I wanted experience working with the public this summer; however, this internship came with much more excitement, more opportunities, and more experiences than I ever anticipated. Working here has helped me pinpoint the kind of work I’d like to move into after graduation.