Hi! My name is Emily Gusman, and I’m very excited to be one of the Summer 2021 interns at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. I grew up in Bakersfield, California where experiences with wildlife were few and far between. And so, summer camping trips were instrumental in forming my love of the outdoors. My passion for animals began--like so many others--with a pet-filled childhood. However, it wasn’t until I volunteered at the California Living Museum (CALM) and went on a school field trip to Costa Rica that I knew I wanted to work in wildlife conservation.

I attended Humboldt State University in northern California where I studied Wildlife Conservation and Management and Geospatial Analysis. I practiced field techniques on numerous class field trips around Humboldt County where I instantly fell in love with the beautiful redwoods and local beaches. I’ve helped graduate students with their projects, which included capturing Roosevelt elk calves to attach radio collars and identifying prey items from barn owl nest box camera footage. I’ve also enjoyed volunteering for the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) where I identified and banded beached birds. For my final year at HSU, I became involved in Conservation Unlimited, HSU’s student chapter of The Wildlife Society, where I hosted a virtual R-Studio workshop and collaborated with other club members to think of additional ways to engage with students virtually while classes remained online.

Throughout my years volunteering, one of my first and favorite field experiences was at the Kern National Wildlife Refuge. I enjoyed helping with a wide variety of projects including Buena Vista Lake shrew camera trapping, Tipton’s kangaroo-rat trapping, and blunt-nosed leopard lizard surveys. From this experience, I knew that I wanted to work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I love all organisms, and working on a wildlife refuge provides the flexibility to work with a wide variety of taxa in pursuit of conserving animal and plant diversity.

I’m excited to start my internship at St. Marks this summer! I’m far from my home in California, but I know that I’ll be gaining a lot of experience that will broaden my skill set. I’m so grateful to have this opportunity during this time of hardship and uncertainty. And I’m especially grateful that everyone has been very supportive and great to work with! In my first week, I’ve climbed trees, banded numerous red-cockaded woodpecker chicks, assisted with a red wolf health check, and seen a lot of interesting new herps and birds. I can’t wait to continue exploring and learning more about the wildlife here in Florida! I know this internship will help me build a strong foundation so I can be successful in my future career, wherever that may take me next.