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 Cristina is a 2018 MENV graduate who specialized in Sustainable Planning and Management (now called Urban Resilience and Sustainability). She currently works as the Keep It Clean Partnership Outreach Specialist at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ County, a collaboration between partner communities -- ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ, Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, and the towns of Erie and Superior, and ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ County -- on water quality monitoring and education and outreach for their shared watershed. In this alumni spotlight article, Cristina tells us about her background and current position, as well as shares her advice for current and future MENV students.

What is your academic and professional background?

After receiving my bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Virginia I spent two years as an AmeriCorps member at Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania co-managing the youth and volunteer program. While at UVA I held leadership roles with a scouting (Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) organization and a search and rescue group, so I gained a lot of experience with event planning and managing people and programs. At Valley Forge I was able to use those same skills in a more formal setting, representing the National Park Service while working with community partners and planning events for our volunteers and visitors. I also started learning how to work with websites and use design programs such as Adobe InDesign.    

Where do you work and how would you describe your role?

I am the Outreach Specialist for the Keep it Clean Partnership, a program in the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ County Office of Sustainability, Climate Action, and Resilience. The Keep it Clean Partnership is a group of local communities who came together 20 years ago to collaborate on water quality monitoring and education and outreach for their shared watershed, the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ St. Vrain Basin. Since the KICP is made up of seven partners, I regularly work with and facilitate conversations between our stakeholders. Our team is small – it’s just myself and the KICP coordinator – so I get to work on a lot of different things day to day, which I love and was looking for during my job search. My job is a mix of high-level planning, community outreach, and creative communications. I’ve created an Education and Outreach strategy, planned virtual trainings, and updated many of our outreach materials. Right now, I’m helping manage our website update and running our first ever art contest.

How did you find your current position? Could you speak about your job search process and how it went?
     
I spent several months dog walking, tutoring, and doing data entry before finding my current position. As part of my job search, I regularly checked the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ County job openings. I was looking for a service-oriented role where I could serve and support my community and kept a close eye on non-profits and local governments that were hiring. It took about 10 months and many applications before I was hired by KICP. When applying to jobs I made sure to balance keeping an open mind about new opportunities and being realistic about the type of work that I would be passionate about and excited to do every day. I was incredibly excited about the KICP role and made it clear in my interviews that I truly believed it was a good fit – and it has been.

Were there any hard or soft skills you felt you lacked or wished you were stronger in when you started your career after graduate school? (i.e. negotiation skills, a certain certification, leadership skills, etc.)?

I had started teaching myself to use design programs and Google Analytics before I was hired, and ever since I have been working to improve those skills as I use them on the job. Design skills and being able to use Google’s analytics and marketing tools were not requirements for my position but have come up naturally as a need in my communications and outreach focused role.

What is something people may not know about you?
    
I have written the plots for two murder mystery parties! With the friends I made at MENV we have hosted multiple store-bought parties, to mix it up I’ve planned two holiday themed ones.

What advice would you give to current and/or future MENV students?
     
Make the most out of your capstone project. It is a great opportunity to practice project management and working closely with a team. Use it as an opportunity to learn and develop new skills. I did not expect to be working on a project related to green infrastructure, but I learned a lot and treated every interview and person we spoke to as a potential future colleague. My experience learning about and writing a green infrastructure guide has helped me with my current job and I now work with one of the people we interviewed as part of our project on a weekly basis!