My first week at the Henry's Fork Foundation was characterized by soft sun, smiling anglers, and the most welcoming staff. I hadn't visited Idaho before now, but I am beyond grateful to have the opportunity to live somewhere so beautiful and work for an organization that is truly dedicated to the longevity of the Henry's Fork River.
My name is Jackie, and I am the Fundraising and Outreach Intern at the Henry's Fork Foundation this Summer. If you're lucky, you may have already seen me out and about helping with our Morning Bites program, handing out coffee and donuts to anglers before they take off on the Henry's Fork to cast their rods and catch (and release) some trout! Now, I'll be honest, I haven't fly fished before, but boy am I excited to do so in the next upcoming weeks, and those of you I've spoken to during those mornings only add more to that excitement!
Just a little background: I am a recent graduate of St. Lawrence University with a BS in Statistics and minor in Computer Science, and I've completed a handful of data analyses in a variety of fields during my undergraduate, some of which I found to be quite interesting. Last Fall, I was in Australia looking at the microbiomes of marine coral and how they vary across species...
and just this past semester, I completed an independent project focused on the behavioral interactions across five species of army-ant following birds in a remote location of Amazonian Peru. I'm no ornithologist, but weirdly enough, I do tend to take a fair share of bird pictures. My first day on the job, on the way to the Chester angler access, my mentor Kam and I saw an owl...I mean how cool is that for a resident Texan? (I mean maybe not for you locals, but I can't be too sure).
All-in-all, I am having a wonderful time getting settled here in Ashton. I've already had a blast getting to know the other interns. Just over a week ago, we competed with the HFF staff in a boat making contest at Warm River Campground. Lily, who volunteered to pilot our makeshift craft, didn't get too far downstream, but we did beat the Staff team. With all this being said, I'm extremely excited to do more fun projects and continue to learn more about the community here. If you happen to see me out helping with Morning Bites or at the 4th of July float, don't be shy and come say hello!
Wish I could have had this opportunity in my youth :) Enjoy every second of it!
Regards, Mats Olsen Florist Norway
Wow that sounds like a great opportunity! keep up the good work Jackie!
So happy you are here, Jackie!