Hello! Bonjour! Hola! Oi!
Having already been in the nation’s capital for over a week, one would think that I would have taken the time to sit down and write. In the end, my assignment with National Geographic is to connect with all of you through our blog and social media platforms. Yet, I have been far too busy exploring Nat Geo’s immense campus, wandering the halls in search of explorers, and attending conferences to best educate myself on how to connect with you, the reader.
So now it’s finally time for me to sit down and say hey! (Well, I guess I already did so six separate times above). My name is Justin Fisch and I am the new Social Media and Promotion Intern with National Geographic Education. I officially started work with the Society last Monday, and will be with you until the beginning of August. I hail from Nova Scotia, Canada, by way of the great state of Florida, where I have been educated for the past decade. I recently graduated from the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences. At UF, I triple-majored (or so they call it) in Political Science, Geography, and Sustainability Studies. I also received minors in Latin American Studies and International Studies in Agriculture & Life Sciences, two very keen interests of mine.
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complete study abroad programs in Taiwan, South Korea, Brazil, and El
Salvador. As a result of these studies, I actually do speak the six
languages that I greeted in. By order of fluency, I have acquired
knowledge in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Mandarin
Chinese over the course of my life. My most recent interest has been in
Brazilian Portuguese, as I had the opportunity to study on exchange in
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, as recently as last fall. I hope to
soon return to the lusophone-speaking world, and further increase my
fluency in this beautiful language.
Outside of learning languages, I consider myself a passionate
outdoorsman, having served as a student guide at the University of
Florida for over three years. To this day, I still think that I held the
best student leadership position on campus, getting to spend my
weekends exploring the country with my classmates. I directed the UF
Travel and Recreation Program for over a year. In this capacity, I was
responsible for watching over a bunch of my peers (student outdoor
leaders) doing crazy things with the guinea pigs we convinced to sign up
for our trips (over 500 students participating in the excursions).
When I wasn’t busy mending the latest weekend trip mishap, I spent mytime talking to hikers in the great woods of Florida (i.e. undergraduate
research). My “thesis” studied the experience of hikers on the Florida
National Scenic Trail, one of the country’s 12 national scenic trails,
and how these experiences shape pro-environmental political attitudes
and behavior. This “work” (if you can call it that – it was awesome!)
resulted in various research reports produced for the U.S. Forest
Service, as well as a few big papers submitted to my undergraduate
departments.
In all seriousness, interning with National Geographic is a dream come
true for me. It will allow me to employ my international education and
experience in public policy to advocate for stronger geography education
throughout the United States and the world (that, as well as not
spending the summer working for a county planning department)!
Following my summer internship working with all of you, I will be taking
a graduation trip to Tanzania to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro! I am very
excited for this opportunity, and hope to have the opportunity to share
it with everyone. In September, I plan to start law school at McGill
University, in Montreal, Quebec, focusing in environmental law. Any
thoughts, comments, or life advice is more than welcome!
Talk to you soon! Salut! Adios! Tchau!