I am a U2 student going into my U3 year, majoring in Geography, focusing on Urban Studies, and double minoring in Environment and Geo-Information Science (GIS) & Remote Sensing. During the winter term of my U2 year, I wanted to pursue my interests in GIS & Remote Sensing within the context of different livelihoods and environmental management. I also wanted to be able to engage in particular with indigenous livelihoods within a changing environment and apply what I have learned during my courses thus far.
As I am nearing the end of my time at 捆绑SM社区, I began thinking about my various interests and the possibility of postgraduate studies. I wanted to do this internship with the South Rift Association of Landowners (SORALO), mainly as it aligns perfectly with my research interests. It is an excellent opportunity for me to explore my interests, apply my skills, and grow as a young professional. More importantly, I wanted to learn what I can and see whether this line of work would fit me and whether I could see myself doing it later down the line. Going into the internship, I had two particular objectives: contribute as much as possible and learn from experts in the field.
My host organization was SORALO, a community-based initiative located in rural Olkiramatian community land, in Kenya鈥檚 South Rift region. As an organization, SORALO envisions a healthy and intact landscape that sustains pastoralist communities and wildlife. They also aim to maintain a thriving and connected landscape for people and wildlife in Kenya鈥檚 South Rift. Much of SORALO鈥檚 work is situated in one of the last remaining strongholds of the Maasai culture in Kenya and their programs have successfully assisted the perpetuation of the Maasai culture in the face of social change, while ensuring the wellbeing of the people and the environment, and strengthening the livelihoods of the Maasai people.
During my time with SORALO, I was given one main project to work on: to assess the effectiveness of their ranger scouts program. SORALO has recently collected data to address this question. I was tasked to make use of the data and operationalize the research question at hand to understand SORALO鈥檚 capacity better in order to further their missions. SORALO, my internship partner, and I had weekly meetings to discuss the project, what was working, what was not, and what actions we could take moving forward. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was unable to travel to Kenya. Instead, I interned remotely from Japan, which proved to be a challenge at the start of my internship. However, SORALO was very flexible on their part. I also found that having weekly check-ins, a designated workspace, and physically writing down bitesize work goals helped me adjust to working remotely.
My time interning for SORALO was filled with fruitful discussions and warm 鈥渃hit chats鈥� beyond the context of work. During my internship, there were many highlights, one of which is SORALO鈥檚 effort in adapting the internship experience given the pandemic. SORALO has tried to help me immerse myself by including me in the ranger scouts WhatsApp group chat that is updated continuously, and by giving me a virtual tour of their resource center. Another highlight of mine is the people I was able to meet, and more importantly, the chance to learn new tricks to analyze data and research within the context of people and conservation. The things I have learned at SORALO and the people I have met will further my research paper for the GEOG489 course. My paper is supervised by Prof. Jon Unruh of the Department of Geography, which focuses on Maasai livelihoods in a changing environment.
This internship has certainly shaped my future career outlook. It has taught me that soft skills in the workplace are just as essential as technical skills. The internship has also allowed me to extend what I have learned in class, work on the feedback that I have received, and, most importantly, prepare for research during postgraduate studies. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Ms. Heather Sokoloff and Mr. Lev Bukhman, for their contribution to funding my internship this year with SORALO. Their generosity has allowed me to engage in my interests, apply my skills, and help an organization I genuinely believe progresses in achieving its goals. The funds have also helped me explore possible careers and grow as a young professional. For that, I am very grateful.
