Endless trainings, document scanning, and naming files very quickly turned into creating permits, monitoring film and photo shoots, and becoming the new billing person for an entire forest. Looking back on 8 months of work, it all seems like such a blur but I have been able to collect so many memories in that time.

My term began with an abundance of training and office work. One of my main duties at the start was to digitize our files in order to create a more easily accessible method of obtaining the information needed by all our staff. While important, this is did not seem like the most glamorous or compelling task. I quickly discovered that this was, in fact, a great chance to look into the history of the forest and the area I have called home for the last 13 years. Seeing as there is an overabundance of physical files, I can look forward to learning a great deal more.

I had worried that I may become stuck behind a desk despite working for a forest but I was quickly given the opportunity to travel to all five districts of the Los Padres. I’ve been able to help with inspections in the field as well as working in the offices to locate the materials we need for our permitting processes. The opportunity to get out of the offices and see the forest has given me the ability to explore several beautiful places that I may never has seen otherwise. This also began my ongoing project of creating a Look Book of different locations on the forest that can be permitted for film and photo shoots.

I have also had the opportunity to go into the field and monitor the film and photography shoots that I’ve been processing applications and creating permits for. When I decided to explore this incredible opportunity, I though that I would be leaving my experience in film and television in the past but I have been lucky enough to find myself working on a team and with a supervisor that values the experiences everyone brings to the table. No matter how unrelated it seems.

I am looking forward to my last few months in this Resource Assistant term but I cannot wait to see where this new and unexpected career path takes me.