This guest post was written by Teresa, about her intern experience with us this summer.
My summer interning at Yellowstone Landscape’s West Houston location has been wonderful and extremely conducive to learning. As a horticulture student at Texas A&M University, I was very excited for the chance to use some of the skills I have learned in the classroom and apply them to the field.
Throughout my internship, I received the opportunity to focus solely on irrigation. Irrigation was a subject in school that I have not become acquainted with so far. The first few days of my internship I was nervous and unsure, but as I met more people and learned more things, I realized that I had no reason to feel that way! Through the patient guidance of my two Mentors, Todd Wilson and Luis Cardona, certain goals were established, I became accustomed to what I was to do, and I fell into a natural rhythm of work.
One particular day, I had the opportunity to work in the field with one of the irrigation technicians, Jaime. This would be my first day working out in the field, and I was a little anxious as well as quite a bit excited. Jaime, quickly put my fears at ease. On that day, I performed irrigation inspections as well as installed new solenoid valves. I learned the ins and outs of installing these valves as well as other useful irrigation tricks. Jaime’s good humor and familiarity with the irrigation process greatly aided me and helped me grow in confidence and knowledge. Jaime was a special teacher because he not only taught me irrigation techniques but because he also taught me Spanish terms and phrases relevant to what we were discussing. This experience taught me that it is not only important to learn irrigation, but also the native language of those who work with you. It is extremely important to be able to communicate with everyone on your team as well as understand and get to know them. This builds a level of mutual respect and compatibility when working together.
My experiences this summer, working with Yellowstone Landscape, has been instrumental to my overall understanding of landscape management. I have learned that irrigation is a component that is often overlooked – primarily due to the fact that effective irrigation systems are never seen by the ordinary person appreciating a landscape. Working with this team of extremely friendly and helpful people have been such a blessing on my journey. I am extremely grateful for the patience and support from everyone, thank you!
