Arizona Game and Fish Department
I have been fortunate enough to spend two summers with the Game and Fish Department. I hope to use this space to share some things I’ve learned that don’t fit on a resume or on LinkedIn.
My first summer internship focused mostly on data management, where I cataloged over 500,000 rows of sport fish data, some entries older than 1950. This was a great first exposure to the field of wildlife biology as it allowed me to have exposure to lots of content from the field. My amazing supervisor, Triska Hoover made sure to set up opportunities for me to help out fieldwork teams within the department, allowing me to see what working with many different species was like.
In my second year in the department, I took on a leadership role with a team monitoring prairie dog occupancy. This position was challenging, but these challenges forced me to quickly develop strong leadership skills alongside an understanding of where my strengths and passions lie. This position also interacted heavily with landowners and various types of landholdings. Navigating these landscapes and seeking access permission from landowners was something new, but a very valuable skill to develop. Needless to say, OnX quickly became my best friend. Together with my team, I spent over 30 nights camping in a variety of landscapes. Some camps were hours from any amenities, forcing me to develop an acute understanding of resource management.
Suzuki Lab
I joined the Suzuki lab at the beginning of the 2025 spring semester. I was quickly introduced to the principles of DNA extraction. Shortly after joining, a new project was started by my supervisor, Aishwarya Patel, to create a captive deer mouse population. I joined the lab team on a 3-day fieldwork trip to Mt. Lemmon, where we captured 27 individuals across 3 species of Peromyscus. Once these members were taken back to ASU, I was lucky enough to be trained on ABSL-2 safety procedures to work with the captive species. As wild deer mice can carry HPS, strong safety regulations were followed during the quarantine period. I was also able to learn about captive animal handling and husbandry during this time. This lab is still new to me, but it teaches me something new every day.