Jornada’s New Undergraduate Internship in Science Education

No working day is the same for Amanda Mock, Jornada’s first undergraduate science education intern. Amanda works eight hours weekly with Asombro Institute for Science Education staff, coordinating and delivering Jornada’s K-12 education and outreach programs. On some days, she assists with creosote bush genetics lessons in 7th-grade classrooms, and on other days she helps run field trips for 3rd graders. Amanda is also helping plan Desert Discovery Day, a public education event that will take place on December 3.

Amanda is a second-year Biology major at New Mexico State University. One of the things she has learned so far this semester is, “It can be hard to include so many things into a cramped schedule for teachers and schools— so a program like Asombro’s shows how, as a community, we can make it possible to make science education accessible and entertaining!”

Her favorite part of the internship is “how I feel so valued as an individual. It’s thrilling to have my opinion heard and received by the team. I’m entrusted with some parts of the Desert Discovery Day Project, and it really feels like I’m involved and included!”

Photo of Amanda Mock facilitating a teaching moment on a field trip to the Jornada Experimental Range. Amanda is the first Undergraduate Science Education Intern with the Asombro Institute for Science Education.