I manage a diverse range of responsibilities to support Cedar Point Biological Station's mission and activities. My key roles include:**Social Media Management: Overseeing our social media presence, creating engaging content, and fostering online community engagement.**Event Coordination: Organizing and coordinating details for our upcoming 50th Anniversary Celebration, ensuring a memorable experience for all attendees.**Alumni Relations: Maintaining and strengthening connections with our alumni network, facilitating communication and engagement.**Grant Writing and Fund Development: Assisting in writing grants and developing fundraising strategies to secure financial support for our programs and initiatives.Through these efforts, I contribute to the growth and success of Cedar Point Biological Station, supporting our mission to provide valuable educational and research opportunities.

Empowering Girls in the Outdoors, through:**Program Development:--Develop and manage diverse year-round outdoor programs, adapting to maximize camp property use.**Camp Management and Compliance:--Lead camp functions: camper safety, budgeting, program development, daily oversight.--Ensure compliance with GSUSA, ACA, state, and federal standards; contribute to ACA accreditation.**Marketing and Communication:--Collaborate with Marketing to promote programs, supporting increased visibility and participation.--Assist in program/fund development through grant management and reporting.**Summer Camp Oversight:--Oversee summer camp as onsite Camp Director, ensuring safety standards and program objectives.Recruit, train, and manage camp staff.**Health and Safety Management:--Monitor health and safety for campers and staff; participate in crisis management and emergency procedures.--Maintain accurate records and reports, including end-of-season summaries.**Effective Communication and Relationship Building:--Foster positive relationships with parents, families, and stakeholders.--Align programs with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Racial Justice (DEIRJ) values.

Office Work:~ Assisted in operations and client services at the Biological Station.~ Collaborated with the Station and Operations team to coordinate daily operations and promote the station.~ Worked with the Field Operations Manager and Osa Conservation Campus Coordinator to enhance the conservation experience.~Generated, implemented, and followed up on property maintenance and supply acquisition processes.~Developed and implemented a sustainability plan to reduce the Campus footprint.~Promoted and marketed the Campus and its services, including updating the visitors' database.~Coordinated visitor experiences with the science team, including creating itineraries and organizing activities.~Assisted in kitchen and cleaning operations, and managed the reservation process.Field Work:~Planted and measured trees to identify optimal reforestation approaches.~Tested new rewilding techniques for tropical rainforest restoration.~Installed, checked, and organized data from camera traps, acoustic devices, and citizen science apps for wildlife monitoring.~Participated in beach patrols, relocated threatened turtle nests to protect them from predation and poaching, and recorded data to monitor nesting mothers and hatchlings.~Practiced regenerative farming techniques to grow produce for the kitchen.Other:~Completed 6 months of Spanish-speaking immersion.~Gained experience in the tourism industry, client service, task administration, and team coordination.~Developed scientific communication skills and learned to produce compelling stories from one of Earth’s greatest wilderness areas.Instagram Profile//Portfolio of Experiences in this Position: https://www.instagram.com/jenpen_in_nature

Responsibilities include:--educating and leading students and guests of the station in the classroom and out in the field--leading day trips to various land and boat sites--facilitating, guiding, and instructing students in proper snorkeling techniques and procedure--presenting educational lectures on various marine science and terrestrial topics (e.g. mangroves, coral conservation, geology, blueholes, etc.)--participate in various chores and maintenance projects around the station: cleaning cabins, doing laundry, fixing equipment, maintaining dive gear, cleaning cars/boats, etc.--assist in the process of certifying students in open water and advanced scuba diving (i.e. sit surface, accompany dive master(s) and/or dive instructor(s) on dives, prep and de-prep students for dives)Guests of the station include students, teachers, chaperones, and researchers of all ages and backgrounds. High schoolers and Gap Year students participating in our Marine Science Program receive tailored education and instruction on topics such as identification (fish, coral, inverts, plants, herps, birds, etc.) and conservation.

In my current role, I assist in completing various projects around the station & serve as an assistant to the associate director. I help facilitate the day-to-day operations of our campus:o Serve as a resource for groups & individuals utilizing the space, providing education & information as necessaryo Interact & work with visitors to ensure a pleasant & productive stay on station (making sure cabins are clean & stocked before arrival, organizing arrival details & instructions, communicating expectations & policies, etc.)o Maintenance projectsExamples include: pouring a cement base for electric sawmill, sealing log cabins, painting inside buildings, assisting in construction of retaining walls, developing a virtual schematic map of the station’s water system, etc.o Prepare for the station’s off-season (closing down buildings & cabins for the winter, storing machinery & equipment, moving furniture, organizing, cleaning, etc.)o Apply for grantsMost recently, I serve as the coordinator for the station’s interaction with the Nebraska Forest Service for the “Free Trees for Fall Planting” program. Following a written application process completed by myself, the station was granted 10 free trees for planting. o General grounds maintenance (watering newly planted trees, etc.) o Enhance the online presence of our station by contributing to social media efforts & generating material for our website (documenting projects, events, volunteer & user experience, collaborations, grants, & station culture through write-ups, posts, photos, local news stories, etc.)The most significant portion of my work is being present & visible on site. As a “live-in” employee, I address any issue that may arise while the associate director is not present on campus and help to ensure the security & function of our station by carrying out general duties for operation (checking mail, receiving deliveries, locking gates & buildings, fueling university vehicles, etc.)

Student Integrated Forest and Prairie Management Internship:This program, sponsored by the Nebraska Environmental Trust, focuses on reducing excessive overgrowth and invasive presence of eastern redcedar trees on Cedar Point's property and restoring prairie grass. Emphasis is placed on "re-purposing" redcedar timber for construction, infrastructure, wood chips, flood and erosion control, etc.o Operate and maintain chainsaws, for the use of reducing eastern redcedar densityo Design and install trail markers for the hiking trail system located on Cedar Point property(Over 30 miles of trail within the nearly 1,000 acre campus)o Construct retaining walls from redcedar logs to slow the flow of water and prevent soil erosiono Utilize redcedar logs to enhance infrastructure on campus (stairs, railings, retaining walls, etc.)o Operate machinery including wood chipper, tractors, chainsaws, auger, etc.o Apply for grants for the station --The grant I worked on, and secured, was through the Nebraska Forest Service "Free Trees for Fall Planting" program in which our station was awarded 10 free trees that were hand-planted and cared for by myself

Worked with client at the Hawley Hamlet community garden and urban agriculture initiative to calculate land area for neighborhood gardening space. Broken down by “growing land”, “total usable land”, and “pollinator land”, or land dedicated to growing plants suitable for pollinators.

o Answer questions regarding NCards (student/faculty/staff university identification cards)o Make NCards for students, faculty, and staff o Count and balance cash registers and close the office at the end of each shift o Access to confidential information regarding students, staff, and faculty

o Develop after school curriculum, or Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO), for students K-12 across the state of Nebraskao Participated in three design sprints focused on creating activities, educational outcomes, and experiences related to:(1) Environmental Education (2) Nebraska "Tree-a-Thon" initiative to educate and celebrate Arbor Day with the planting of 20,000 trees across the state (3) Mission to Mars (virtual backpack program)

o Responsible for building a community on my floor, consisting of approximately 50 residents (mostly first year students)o Provide residents with knowledge and access to campus resourceso Conduct one-on-one interactions and meetings with each resident during the semestero Guiding and supporting residents in their transition to college (suggesting resources for issues related to academics, career, personal, social, health, spiritual, emotional, etc.)o Plan, advertise, and carry out weekly programs and events (encouraging residents to attend events, managing the structure and success of carrying out the event from beginning to end, facilitating and supervising residents interactions during the event, etc.)o Complete administrative tasks for Residence Directoro Attend and participate in weekly staff meetingso Addressing and documenting Housing policy violationso "On Duty" one-three times a week>>Responsible for conducting two-three sets of rounds (walking the residence halls, checking study rooms, stairwells, bathrooms, etc.), monitoring all residents and their activities, and responding to/ resolving incidents as they occur within the building

**In addition to the regular Resident Assistant responsibilities below, an SRA (Senior Resident Assistant) is responsible for holding office hours each week. Office hours serve as a time for:o Other RAs in the building to receive guidance, feedback, assistance, reminders, etc.o Complete administrative tasks for the Residence Directoro Review other RAs' programs and taskso Responsible for building a community on my floor, consisting of approximately 50 residents (mostly first year students and several international students)o Provide residents with knowledge and access to campus resourceso Conduct one-on-one interactions and meetings with each resident during the semestero Guiding and supporting residents in their transition to college (suggesting resources for issues related to academics, career, personal, social, health, spiritual, emotional, etc.)o Plan, advertise, and carry out weekly programs and eventso Complete administrative tasks for Residence Directoro Attend and participate in weekly staff meetingso Addressing and documenting Housing policy violationso "On Duty" one-four times a week>>Responsible for conducting two-three sets of rounds (walking the residence halls, checking study rooms, stairwells, bathrooms, etc.), monitoring all residents and their activities, and responding to/ resolving incidents as they occur within the building

• Responsibilities: attend weekly classes, plan/organize/attend monthly events to take students to, participate in monthly “track meetings” with other interns and faculty/staff, and post social media reflections about my experiences and events throughout the internship• Specific classroom tasks: help international students with vocabulary, reading, presentations, verbal and written activities, engaging games, facilitate conversation, provide clarification/examples/personal accounts and experiences, serve as a reference and resource, and give feedback, suggestions, and advice when necessary

o Participated in “Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates” (REEU) as part of the “Diversity in Faces, Spaces, and Places of Natural Resources Science” program at Purdue University o Designed, conducted, and presented a research project looking at the genetic susceptibility of butternut trees in acquiring a fungal canker disease o Presented and interacted with children and people of all ages to educate and inform the general public on my research efforts and process, as well as the importance of natural resources science and research o Implemented games, activities, and creative engagement through extension efforts and outreach to the community; presented research process and findings

I served as a camp counselor and Wilderness, Adventure, and Discovery (WAD) Instructor for girls ages 5-15. Some of my responsibilities and roles included:o Educating campers on various outdoor/environmental education topics such as: wildlife, plants, hiking and camping practices, fishing, canoeing, landfills and decomposition rates, recycling and composting, sustainable living, etc.o Inspiring campers to explore and respect the environmento Encouraging campers to consider and participate in outdoor activitieso Challenging campers to try new outdoor activities and think about the environment in new wayso Supporting campers through their growth and development as stewardesses for the earth

o Maintained trails in Rocky Mountain National Park, working with National Park staffo Maintained and constructed trails, built infrastructure, and enhanced the usability of an extensive trail system (Built steps, assisted in bridge development, cleared trails of fallen trees, etc.)o Learned to use various tools and equipment for outdoor trail work and constructiono Developed skills for community living ~Lived in a tent for the summer, alongside my crew of eight peopleo Received training in "Search and Rescue" skills