Hi, my name is Kaitlyn Bednar but everyone calls me Kati. I am currently a Student Trainee Hydrologist with the California Water Science Center (CAWSC) in Sacramento. I am also a full-time geology and geography student at California State University of Sacramento, and a part-time student at American River College within their G.I.S. certificate program. It may seem like a lot, but I enjoy keeping busy and learning new things.

How did you start working for the USGS?

I first heard about the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP) with the USGS during my sophomore year of high school from my chemistry teacher. She knew how interested and excited I was about science and highly recommended that I look into the position and apply. Before I knew it, I was being offered the position and started my student employment with the USGS while finishing up high school.

Once I graduated, I immediately knew I wanted to continue to pursue a career with the USGS and declared my major as geology. Over the next few years, because of my student employment and involvement in geology, I was also exposed to the fields of geography and G.I.S., and converted into the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP). That played a huge role with my decision to also pursue an additional degree and certificate to contribute to the skills I use every day at work when trying to locate field sites and querying their corresponding data.

What is a day in your life like?

Right now I work in Data Management where I mainly establish new sites and also work with historical data and other unique data sets that require special attention. For example, I have looked at descriptions of sites that were recorded as far back as the 1900s and used G.I.S. data to locate them. That process helps us to pinpoint and monitor exact sites overtime. I also help people enter their censored data into the National Water Information System (NWIS), making sure their metadata is not only correct, but that it also fully describes their dataset and matches exactly in both places.

During spring, summer, and winter breaks from school, I try and get out in the field as much as possible with any group that needs an extra set of hands. So far, I have had the opportunity to work with projects studying groundwater, surface water, soils, gases, and some biological samples that have allowed me to gain a wide range of experience by completing tasks above my level. In the near future, I hope to transition into a position that has more responsibility, as a technician or hydrologist, and to be in charge of my own field runs.

What is your most memorable experience with the USGS so far?

I have had so many memorable experiences working with the USGS that this is a hard decision to make. If I had to choose just one, I would have to say I will never forget the summer of 2010 when I had the opportunity to collect groundwater samples for water level measurements and water quality analysis. The field crew and I were collecting samples along the west coast all the way up from Sacramento to Crescent City and back. Never have I seen as much of California as I did that summer collecting samples. There is nothing more exciting than being pushed out of the “usual” and into an unfamiliar place that is filled with natural beauty, talking to people I would never have met, and doing the job I continue to love that always has had some unexpected twist waiting for me to solve.

What do you see as the most valuable part of your work?

The most valuable part of my work has been having the opportunity to gain experience in all areas by collecting, processing, and analyzing samples to establish them in our database. In my opinion, everyone should have at least one opportunity to see how each step is performed so that they too can have a general understanding of how what they do affects the bigger picture.

What are your future plans?

While finishing up with my degrees, I plan to continue working with the USGS and get out in the field as much as possible traveling throughout California and wherever else the USGS takes me. With the USGS I hope to fully gain an understanding of the hydrological issues that we are going to face in the near future, particularly those dealing with climate change and water availability.

Why is the USGS a good place for students to work?

I would have to say that the USGS is a great place to work because they taught me many life values that any teenager could benefit from. I am most thankful to have such amazing coworkers who have not only taught me essential work related skills but have also shared valuable life experiences that have inspired me to be the person I am today. They have been supportive of not only my career related goals, but also have been understanding of my personal goals and have put my education first. Many of my coworkers are now even close friends with whom I can see myself remaining in contact many years down the road.

If you would like to know more about me or what I do, please don’t hesitate to contact me at kbednar@usgs.gov and introduce yourself. I love meeting new people and sharing stories.

Hi there, I’m Marnelli Taasin and I am currently a student trainee working in Administrative Management with the USGS in Hawaii. I am also a part-time MBA student at Hawaii Pacific University (HPU), studying towards a concentration in Management.  My life as an MBA student and USGS employee is definitely busy, but very rewarding.  It is busy due to the strong need to manage my workload from both school and work, but it is also very rewarding because of the many challenges that turn into accomplishments after hard work and perseverance.

How did you start working for the USGS?

The opportunity to become an employee for the USGS was given to me by one of my professors at HPU when I was about to graduate with my BSBA in Accounting and Finance. I was very fortunate when my professor approached me with the chance to work for the USGS because I was looking for a great place to gain real-world experience and enhance the skills and knowledge I learned while in college. After I completed my undergraduate degree, I enrolled in the MBA program at HPU and became a USGS employee through the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP). I now work at the USGS Pacific Islands Water Science Center (PIWSC).

What is a day in your life like?

A day working for the PIWSC is never the same, and this is one of the reasons why I call the USGS a place for learning and growth. While I know I still have a lot to learn, the duties that I’ve been provided so far continue to challenge my overall knowledge and improve the quality of my skills.

I always start my mornings by pulling up the Administrative Calendar on my computer just so I get a good perspective of the work that needs to be accomplished that day, what needs to be completed by the end of the month, and so forth.  Working for the USGS has definitely led me to an environment of multi-tasking and engaging in daily activities such as: the reconciliation of charge card statements, payment of all referencing and non-referencing invoices, generating down payment requests for cooperators, inputting purchase requisitions, working with sales and purchase orders, preparing monthly budget-expense reports, and managing vehicle records. In addition, my responsibilities as a student trainee have expanded to assisting with budget management and development with thorough guidance and support from the rest of the PIWSC administrative team.

What is your most memorable experience with the USGS so far?

So far, one of the most memorable experiences with the USGS was having the privilege of training in the mainland to prepare for the newly implemented Financial and Business Management System (FBMS). I’ve lived in Hawaii the majority of my life, and having been given the chance to train in California and Washington State made me realize that there is a much bigger world out there to learn from and explore. During training, I met a number of USGS employees from other states who shared a lot of their knowledge and experiences with me. I enjoyed every minute of training and meeting these great people, who have impacted my career goals more than they will ever know.

What do you see as the most valuable part of your work?

The USGS is comprised of many teams working together to fulfill its mission. The administrative responsibilities I perform for the USGS highly support the planning associated with its science and research. In order to provide reliable scientific information, project funds need to be well spent and appropriately managed. In addition, the ability to monitor the inflow and outflow of these funds assures that the scientific data offered by the USGS is done in the most cost-effective manner possible.

What are your future plans?

I will graduate with my MBA in 2013 from HPU, and the first thing I am going to embrace is the fact that I will now have no homework to do after getting off work. Aside from this though, I would love to start working full-time in the Administrative Management field and get more involved in community activities. I work with a lot of great people here in Honolulu, and some of us have already participated in two small marathons as a group. I definitely plan on continuing to stay active and promoting a healthy lifestyle in addition to learning more about budget management and development.

Why is the USGS a good place for students to work?

The USGS is a great place for youth and students to establish a career, because it’s not only an agency of science, but also an agency of support and mentoring. As a student, the USGS will support your education and definitely enhance the skills and knowledge you’ve learned in school. Its environment will also teach you to become a great team member as well as a leader, and this mentoring will always benefit the goals you want to accomplish in life.

What would you like people to know about the USGS?

What I want people to know about the USGS is the fact that it is more than just an agency. It is a family that consists of people from all across the nation. Each person that is a part of the USGS family contributes and plays a role in fulfilling its mission to provide high-quality scientific information. Working together is what we do best and sharing our knowledge with one another and the public is what we are known for.

I found out about the USGS and the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) by attending a State Soil and Water Conservation Society meeting. At the meeting I met a geologist who works with the USGS, asked about my interests, and gave me contact information for my current supervisor. Two months later, I started working as a Volunteer for Science, and then as a SCEP during college. After graduation I began in my current term position as a Hydrologic Technician. I now work as a team member in the data section, with the urban hydrology program.

A Day in the Life

A typical day for me revolves around collecting accurate data for our cooperators and the public. Duties that I might perform include surface water and water quality field trips; gage maintenance; peak flow data collection; bacteria sample collection and processing; working and checking records; storm and base flow sampling; laboratory cleaning; and much more.

In the Field

The most memorable experiences for me would be every storm sampling trip that I have been a part of, especially those at night. Sampling during these times always seems to make me feel like a storm chaser because the streams in our area are very quick to rise due to urbanization, and generally we aim to catch the storm event at its peak. It is always interesting participating in storm response teams because you actually get to see how a stream or river flows during the peak of the hydrograph as opposed to just seeing a line on a screen — it makes the work more realistic. To me, it is really interesting to see how much impact just a half inch of rain can have on a watershed. Our urban streams can easily go from being ankle deep at base flow to at least five feet deep in just a couple hours during major storms. Sampling is also a great opportunity to see how urbanization has truly impacted a region through water quality parameters such as turbidity, specific conductance, pH, and dissolved oxygen. We also make discharge measurements during storm events. These are very important when it comes to flood inundation mapping efforts and flood warning systems (such as WaterAlert) that are currently in place. At all times, we need to have accurate ratings and well-maintained equipment so that we can warn people who live close to streams and rivers that they may be in danger if even a minor flood event were to occur. It does not take much water to ruin property and take lives, so the work that the USGS does is vital.

As for what work I would like to do next, I would love to get more involved in water quality research and potentially write some publications.

Why the USGS?

I believe that the USGS is a great place for students to work because there are many opportunities for learning and growth as a scientist. Coworkers and supervisors will continually motivate you and help to develop the skills that you already have, along with instilling new skills. There is also a great amount of training available to USGS employees at all times. In the USGS, there is a lot of pride and hard work that goes into each and every bit of data collected and published. At the end of the day, you can always be satisfied knowing that you have worked hard and gotten much accomplished, and that satisfaction is what makes USGS great.

Hi, I’m Kristina Yamamoto. At the USGS, I work as a geographer for the Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science, part of the National Geospatial Program. I am also in the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP). As a SCEP, I mainly work on remote sensing and GIS projects to support the research goals of the Geospatial Information Science program. Some of my past work has been using satellite imagery for soil moisture and vegetation comparisons and evaluating different map projections. I’ve been working at the USGS for two years, and I’m also finishing my Ph.D. dissertation in geography from the University of Denver. I hope to graduate in June 2012.

How has your USGS experience helped you succeed?

I recently had my first peer-reviewed paper (PDF) published on a project I worked on at USGS — I am a co-author. I had been waiting for a publication for a long time, and I was so excited to see the paper in print. This was followed by two more publications in just a few weeks, including my first as the lead author. Learning even more about the publishing process, including how to address reviewers’ comments and formatting images, has been very helpful for me, not just as a researcher with USGS, but also in my own Ph.D. work.

What’s your most memorable moment with USGS?

I recently received an award from my project lead/supervisor for my research efforts on one of my latest USGS projects on vegetation and soil moisture. It was completely unexpected, and it was so nice to be recognized for the work I have done for the USGS so far.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

I work best with a lot of tasks to sort through at a time, and luckily for me, my USGS job has provided me with a variety of duties and responsibilities. On any given day, I could be working on original research projects, editing and reviewing documents that are getting ready for publication, managing data, emailing other researchers in our group or from other government agencies and universities, reading journal articles and reports, or all of the above. Multi-tasking keeps me happy.

My dissertation work involves using remote sensing to research sea turtle nesting habitat. My USGS work also has remote sensing and GIS focuses, but my projects here are usually more focused on non-wildlife issues, such as soil moisture or map projections. So, while I am strengthening my remote sensing and GIS skills here at USGS, each day I also have to push the limits of my knowledge, which I would have never had a chance to do otherwise.

Why it matters?

My research supports the development of geographic tools and methods to help in decision making involving the human and environmental consequences of land change. It also provides information about our nation’s natural resources, including the effects of climate on those resources, which can provide information needed to plan now for the future management and preservation of America’s lands.

Although field work is very important (and I, like most geographers, love nothing more than traveling and being outside), there are also many research questions that can be better investigated using remotely sensed data. For example, for one of our research projects, we needed to compare several large geographic areas across different years. Satellite imagery allowed us to make these comparisons more quickly, completely, and less expensively than having field crews measure variables every 30 meters for hundreds of miles.  The USGS provides “science for a changing world,” and one of the best ways to learn more about our planet is to conduct new research with the methods best suited for your research goals.

Kristina Yamamoto

What would you like people to know about the USGS?

I know a lot of people have only two things in mind when they think of the USGS: topo maps and tectonic activity. The Survey is actually much much more than that — the topics covered by the employees are far-reaching, from water issues and contaminants to energy and ecological and environmental challenges. I would bet many students could find a niche here, even if they don’t have a background in geology.

Where do you want to do from here?

My Ph.D. is slowly and painfully wrapping up — I am hoping to graduate in June. Like most geographers, I have a broad range of interests. For me, geospatial research is interesting and a key component to my dissertation, and I hope it will lead me to a rewarding career at the USGS. Of course, wildlife studies will always remain dear to my heart! No matter where I end up, though, I want to make sure I am contributing good work, both to my team and to the agency as a whole.