Hello everyone! I’m Kristina Gjergjaj but everyone calls me Tina. This upcoming fall I will be a junior studying Environmental Conservation and Sustainability at the University of New Hampshire. Sophomore year flew by at UNH but I am excited for the experiences and knowledge I will gain this summer. I have been given the opportunity to work with Alyson Eberhardt and Caitlin Mandeville t as the summer 2018 Coastal Resilience Intern for UNH Cooperative Extension and New Hampshire Sea Grant. For the next couple of weeks I will be taking part in numerous projects including beach profiling, sand dune restoration, glass eel monitoring then creating reports summarizing the data that was gathered. I am thrilled to be joining a team of like minded individuals and making a difference.
My main focus is to assist with data collection and volunteer training efforts in New Hampshire related to beach and sand dune restoration management. While developing reports to connect beach profiling data to management needs and stakeholders. With this opportunity I will gain skills in public communication and outreach, valuable experience in experimental design and experience with final reports.
So a little more about me, I grew up in Bronx New York and eventually moved to upstate New York. I have three younger siblings, I’m the oldest of 16 grandchildren and I can put a baby to sleep faster than you can say “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” Growing up consisted of my family and I constantly being outside, like when I lived in the city I would always ride my bike around the block or later on in the countryside planting 30 fruit trees, two gardens and exploring the state park behind my house. No matter where I lived I was always outside, since a young age nature has always been apart of my life.
When trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and where I wanted to continue my education. I had to pick out a major I knew I wouldn’t lose interest in and make a meaningful career out of it. The knowledge I was gaining from countless documentaries, the importance of the environment, how critical the quality of life is and that fact that I wanted to make a difference. When adding all four of my interests together, it made me realize what I wanted to study and do with my life. I wanted to save the environment. Saving the environment would have powerful endless effects on the world and generations to come. I wanted to learn the science behind protecting the environment and what it would take. Which is when I decided to go to the University of New Hampshire one of the top ten schools in the country for sustainability. Through this school I have gained field experience, knowledge of sustainability, strengthened my opinions and have been given numerous opportunities further my skills.
Stay tune for more updates!
~Tina
