Meet FPC’s 2020 Green Jobs Interns

Forest Park ConservancyUncategorized

We are thrilled to introduce you to our four interns, Ahmed, Jonathan, Joseph, and Selena. If you see any of them in Forest Park this year, please make sure to stop and say hello!

Ahmed Yusuf

            Hi, I am Ahmed Yusuf (He, Him) and if you see me in Forest Park, say hi! I am excited to be a member of the Green Jobs Internship and Training Program. Forest Park is one of my favorite parks in Portland. My favorite thing to do in Forest Park is watching the woodpeckers with their mighty beaks pecking away. I am here at the Forest Park Conservancy to gain hard skills such as chainsawing and also soft skills like grant writing. I am also here to build relationships with other outdoor professionals, employers, and community members. During the yearlong internship, I will be focused on building skills, building relationships and obtaining certifications.

            I am also interested in park user needs and access. Forest Park is for everyone and everyone should have access, and their needs heard. Before my time at the Forest Park Conservancy, I lead groups doing environmental education and restoration. I enjoy working with students and community members to learn and steward our lands.

            My favorite quote is “don’t let the sadness from the past and the fear of the future ruin the happiness of the present”. It’s a quote that reminds me to enjoy the little things and the people who helped create those moments. Forest Park is so big that I haven’t been able to explore all of it yet but I would love to explore the Northwest end of the park. My favorite location currently in Forest Park is the Lower Macleay Trail. The Lower Macleay trail has a beautiful new bridge, the “Witch’s Castle” and Balch Creek. Growing up in Portland, access, and community mean a lot to me.

         Jonathan Albarran

             My name is Jonathan Albarran. My pronouns are him/his/he and I am in search of what aspect of this field of work interests me the most. I am determined to leave my mark and to be able to reach others through both my actions and my words. My personal mission is to be able to give other people the same opportunity I had that sparked my interest in the natural world. Throughout my life, I have done work on soft-surface trails, camps, construction, and a logging company. Although my professional goal might change it will remain in the environmental field.

 While I work with Forest Park Conservancy, I will do my best to become adept at the stewardship aspect as well as broadening my understanding of the different jobs that make this and other nonprofit organizations keep going.

            I noticed that the older I got the more and more I was drawn to nature, from watching nature documentaries to walking in my local parks and wooded areas – I couldn’t get enough. I would always find peace and refuge from things that went on in my life inside a wooded area. Since then it has become a goal of mine to make sure that places like this are preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Quotes that I can identify with:

  • The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. it is its natural manure – Thomas Jefferson

Joseph Justice

What brought you to Forest Park Conservancy?

            My old mentors! In high school, I was involved in a youth outreach program called the Blueprint Foundation. Their goal is to provide opportunities for young students of color to experience the outdoors in a way they likely wouldn’t have ever without them. Coming back from my first year of university and working all summer I decided not to go back to school immediately. I was telling one of my mentors about how I was back home and staying and a few weeks later he sent me the application and told me about this program and how he thought it’d be a good fit for me. I looked it over, applied, interviewed, and here I am.

What will be your main focus during my time here at Forest Park Conservancy?

            My main focus and goal at the end of all this is to have experienced as many different things as possible. Coming back from year one of university, not knowing quite what I want to pursue anymore; this is a great way to experience something I’ve had an interest in for years, without fully committing to a degree. The environmental services field has always been an interest of mine and with this internship, I’m able to experience a variety of careers, due to the different roles and partnerships the organization has. I really want to focus on gaining as much knowledge as possible, I’ve always been interested in the work of the outdoors so I want to allow myself to be open to every experience shown to me. I am also excited to focus on connecting with and meeting as many people established in the field as possible.

Most interesting or unusual job before Forest Park Conservancy?

            Back in Summer 2017 I spent a month at Washington Family Ranch in Antelope, OR doing “work crew” for an organization called Young Life. I was on the Outdoor Crew, and so my primary role was to be a part of a team of other teens who were basically mini landscapers. We did all the mowing, tree trimming, blowing, digging, planting and pulling all along the entirety of the compound. Easily the most fun doing the hardest work in my life.

What are your favorite quotes?

“Treat every day like day one.” / “Is today just one day, or is it day one.”

Do you have a favorite spot in Forest Park? Or, where I’d like to visit?

            Leif Erikson trail is my favorite because it reminds me of all the runs through I had to do during high school cross country seasons. As far as where I’d like to visit in the park, I want to get to wherever is checked off as the highest point in the park. I also want to find out where in the park gives the best overview of the open cityscape. I think my favorite place will be wherever in the park it may be that allows you to see a lot of the city and clearly while still being tucked away in the nature of the park.

Selena Gutierrez

Pronouns: She/her/hers 

Hi, I’m Selena, I am a 22-year-old native Portlander with a 2-year-old daughter Lyric. My journey with environmental work started a year ago in 2018 with another program by the name of “Green Workforce Academy” that was facilitated by Eco Trust and the Blueprint Foundation. I was fortunate to be able to get certified in environmental literacy and learn about environmental justice, equity, and sustainability, as well as network with some prominent individuals in the environmental field. 

Fast forward a year later, I am now an intern with Forest Park Conservancy for a total of 12 months and I am ecstatic to be a part of the first cohort, to say the least. My goal for my time as an intern is to gain knowledge on any and everything that we have on our agenda for the year. I have very little exposure to the vast field of environmental work so everything will be a learning experience for me. My hope is that what I learn here can help the start of my career and assist me in finding a good job when this internship ends. I love learning about water, and what jobs are out there involving water. 

Before working with FPC I was a sales associate for a big grocery store company. Working there showed me a lot about working for big companies and how much they completely do not care about anyone or anything but their “bottom line” agenda. I felt so used and very un-valued. There was no purpose, no mission, no making a difference in a way that made me feel good about myself. 

My favorite quote is “don’t put off for tomorrow what can be done today.” And as for a favorite place in Forest Park, I don’t have one yet! I still have so much to explore.