What the Watershed Academy Internship has meant to me by Tian Sandoval

Hello, my name is Tian Sandoval. I am from San Felipe Pueblo and the Zuni tribe, I have been working as a seasonal intern for River Source since I graduated high school in 2022. I was introduced to environmental sciences in my junior and senior years of high school. In those classes, we got the opportunity to do hands-on work such as building one rock dams and planting native and medicinal plants around campus. On one occasion, River Source came to give a presentation on drones and software used for their line of work, and that event sparked my interest into the outdoor field. The technological aspect and the hands-on work led me to get involved with the ongoing endeavors groups like River Source and other organizations aim to accomplish.

I have gotten the chance to work with River Source over the last 3 years and there have been many meaningful experiences. In my experiences, the teamwork and friendship have always left an optimistic feeling about the impactful work done in communities and watersheds. The longest project I was able to be a part of was on the Santa Fe River building erosion control structures. This work has been the most impactful to me as we saw how our structures were functioning and retaining soil. I do believe this work has changed me in some ways, both big and small. I understand that the environment is always going to change, from erosion to droughts. And I began to realize that it is important to help educate individuals as well as the next generation about the ongoing environmental changes. I am also getting better at my presentation skills as well as learning more and more about the key skills in this kind of work.   

Over the last 3 years, I have gained a lot of invaluable knowledge and experience from working with River Source. I flew my first drone, worked with tons of amazing people, collected and presented data, and gained real-world experience from the top to the bottom of the watershed. I plan to continue learning as much as I can over the course of my college years & I believe these experiences will always be in my back pocket. One of my biggest takeaways was presenting and teaching youth groups about the knowledge and information I learned from River Source. This is significant to me because I think it’s a full wraparound of my experiences and, essentially, the cycle of conservation efforts. The environment is ever-changing as there will always be erosion, drought, and floods and if these issues go unaddressed, we could potentially lose our precious resources. By spreading awareness and educating the youth with an environmental outlook we can sustain our lands for the next generation.