Hi, my name is Kate, and I am one of the Interns and newly appointed Social Reporters for Adopt an Intern. So here is my first ever blog post.
So….we shall start with a bit about me:
My internship is based at East Renfrewshire Council, and I am currently filling in as a Countryside Ranger for the Dams to Darnley Country Park.
The country park is located right between Newton Mearns and Barrhead in Glasgow, and stretches from Darnley all the way to the Barrhead Dams.
In short….Welcome to my office:
My most important role is to stop Yogi Bear from stealing all the picnics! … Well, not really…..but it is a really great role.
My internship actually involves a wide variety of tasks, including:
• Practical habitat and infrastructure maintenance (I get let loose with a variety of tools).
• Educational visits to schools and community groups, as well as them coming out to the country park to take part in a range of topics which can be anything from mini-beasts and pond-dipping, to woodland art and team building.
• Organising and running ranger-led events for the public.
• Leading weekly health walks and fortnightly volunteer days within the country park.
• Driving the country park van on patrols.
• And last but not least…..tackling and reporting anti-social behaviour and vandalism within the park.
I’m sure there are some things I left out, but the job changes from day to day, and that’s what I love.
How did I get here?:
Well, I graduated from Stirling University in 2009 with an honours degree in Ecology. I did plan to go on and do a Masters degree straight after, but I was then facing the reality of how much it was all going to cost, and didn’t really want to add to my student loans. So I then embarked on the crazy hunt for a full-time job that was reasonably relevant to my degree and interests. Luckily, I was already in some part-time employment working weekends as a cleaner and tea lady for the NHS, so I did have a little income coming in.
For almost two years I hunted high and low for relevant jobs, and applied for an average of around 4 jobs a week, usually not hearing back from any of them, and occasionally receiving the odd depressing letter through the door informing me that I was unsuccessful.
I was lucky enough to be interviewed for four of these jobs, but was always told that I had been ‘pipped at the post’ by someone else who was ‘more enthusiastic’ or ‘had more experience’.
In between working and applying for jobs, I spent my free time volunteering for the RSPB and the Stirling Countryside Ranger Service trying to get more experience and improve my C.V.
Finally, in March, I saw an internship opportunity advertised with CSPP’s Adopt an Intern scheme, so I applied. The internship was to be an Outdoor Access Officer with East Renfrewshire Council. I quickly received a phone call from Joy at Adopt an Intern, who informed me that she was impressed with my C.V. and would like to shortlist me for the role. Before I knew it I was going to an interview with the council, which was a really positive experience. I soon received a phone call from the interviewers telling me that unfortunately I was unsuccessful and had come a very close second, and that they would keep my details as they had an opportunity coming up that they felt I would be more suited to.
So I waited and a month later I received a call from the council asking me if I would like to cover their Countryside Ranger post for 12 weeks as a Graduate Intern. Of-course, I jumped at the opportunity, I mean…who wouldn’t??!
Two weeks later, at the beginning of May, I started my internship, and have never looked back. I have since had my contract extended and I am still enjoying it.
Now you know a bit more about me and how I got to this point. As a Social Reporter for Adopt and Intern, I am here to represent current interns and share my experiences as an intern. I am also here to give advice to anyone out there who is interested in graduate internships and similar opportunities.
You can follow my daily activities as a Countryside Ranger Intern on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kate_intern , as well as my future blogs and discussions.
Cheerio for now!
Kate
