The past two weeks at the Shedd have been super busy! The entire Horticulture Department has been hustling to get done as much as possible before the summer interns (save for myself) finish up their time at the Shedd. Watching my three colleagues finish off their internships this week was way more emotional than I thought it would be! It was so odd to go from my experience last summer, where I worked almost completely in solitude except for occasional days in the field with my boss, to my internship this summer where I got to work with other people my age and in my field. I grew so much closer to these people than I thought I would, and I feel like we became a little family over the relatively short time I have been at the Shedd so far. Working with these people taught me the value of teamwork, and it showed me that I actually can have productive and instrumental working relationships, and that I can't always make as much of a difference on my own as I wish I could.
Now that I am the only intern left in the department, things are going to kick into high gear... Because apparently they weren't in high enough gear already! Before, the four of us rationed out the ridiculous amount of work required to upkeep the gardens in the Shedd, while also maintaining our individual projects. Now, I, along with the one devout volunteer and my two bosses, am responsible for covering all of what the four of us handled before--while also up-keeping my project. I spent all week anticipating this, becoming increasingly nervous about the looming heftiness of my workload, but now I am realizing that this could actually be a really good opportunity for me. Working with the other three interns, I felt like I was always getting good work done, but I never found myself especially able to "shine" to my bosses and to other people associated with the Horticulture Department. Now that I am the only intern left, I realize that this is a chance for me to prove to my bosses that I can be a valuable addition to any team. No, I do not expect my time at the Shedd to be extended past the end of my Fellowship, but showing how evolved my work ethic can be is how I can gain the respect and--hopefully--future recommendations from my bosses. And, beyond that, it would be nice to always have some sort of foot in the door at the Shedd--and that isn't going to happen unless I push myself and prove that I am up for any challenge.
One last good thing about being the only intern left behind is that there will no longer be any competition for the produce--I will always be able to take the biggest onion, the ripest peppers, and the juiciest tomatoes. My summer at the Shedd may be starting to die down a little bit, but I'm so excited and honored to give it one last, big push before turning in my gloves and tool-belt.