My Summer Internship In Review

2019-08-04 17:49:27.000 – Ethan Rogers, Summit Intern

“It just doesn’t feel real”. That was my reaction after learning that I had been offered a position as an intern for the summer here on Mt. Washington. I was about to work at a place I had never been to before, and live in a region I had never dreamed I would ever live at. I was assigned my first research project, something I had been pondering doing at Penn State, but it was never something I had time to follow through with. The project that I was assigned was completely new, and I learned that I would be working on something that had never been formally researched yet. This summer for me was a summer of a lot of firsts for me. It was also a summer of learning, great times, and great people.

On my first day as an intern, I was incredibly nervous. All of the responsibilities we were given as interns, such as working on our research projects, making forecasts and radio calls, giving tours, and working in the museum were very daunting to me. However, with the help of the employees here, it was made much easier. By the end of the summer, I had given dozens of tours, made several forecasts and radio calls, and worked countless hours in the museum. All the while, I gained confidence in myself and even gained a new vision for the future. I learned about the pleasures of working with people, and incorporating meteorology to education and presentation. My career path became one where I wanted to work with people, as opposed to avoiding interaction.

I have met some incredible people up here, whether they worked at the observatory, at the state park, were members of the observatory, or were volunteers. I have learned something from every single person I met up here, and it has truly been an eye opening experience. I also want to give a shout out to all of our wonderful volunteers. Meeting such unique people every week has been one of the most fun parts of working up here, and the work they do each and every week deserves to be appreciated. Meeting new members and giving tours to people from all walks of life has also been amazing, and I have met some more incredible people doing that as well. 

 “The Undercasts” (from left to right): Intern Ben, Museum Attd. Carrie, Me, Intern Austin, Volunteer Liz

Ethan Rogers, Summit Intern