We’d like to introduce one of our amazing student interns at the Arboretum and Public Garden sector of Facilities Management, Brisny Argueta Balan! Brisny is a first year Civil Engineering major and has been an Arboretum Ambassador Intern since October. Arboretum Ambassador interns are students in the Learning by Leading program that assist with campus stewardship and outreach responsibilities for the Arboretum and Public Garden.

As an Arboretum Ambassador, Brisny’s duties are to plan and participate in events involving the Arboretum and to keep the Arboretum clean so people can enjoy it every day! As an ambassador, she has participated in events like Picnic Day and Take Our Children to Work Day and has also helped plan the Arboretum’s seasonal plant sales. The first event she had the honor of having a lead role in organizing was called: Textures of Ecology, an Imagining America Happening. This was a creative social event in collaboration with Imagining America, a national organization dedicated to supporting arts education, and invited participants to draw and decorate portraits of themselves using only natural materials like leaves and flowers.

Brisny loves every aspect of her role, but she especially loves that it gives her the chance to disconnect from the digital world and spend time outdoors in nature. The Learning by Leading program has given her a sense of community outside of her major and allowed her to meet other people with a similar passion for nature. She also appreciates how supportive and friendly the other students in the internship program are. Since they are all undergraduate students around the same age, they are all constantly learning from each other and helping each other succeed. She and the other Arboretum Interns put a lot of hard work into what they do, and she is so happy to work with such a great team every day to make a real impact on the Arboretum! She also finds that the role has made a big difference in teaching her independence and leadership skills she will use for her entire career, and she’s glad to be exposed to the workforce at a young age.

After she graduates, Brisny’s goal is to find a career in Water Resource Management. As a Guatemalan, she has seen that not everyone in the world has the same access to clean water, so she is very passionate about dedicating her career to helping communities effectively manage water resources. She hopes that in her coming years as an Arboretum Ambassador she can work on the Waterway Restoration Program to gain useful experience for her future career.

Being outdoors and playing sports is a must for Brisny! She likes to stay active in her free time by playing soccer recreationally or running track and field and cross country. She also values spending quality time with her friends, whether it’s grabbing a treat downtown or hanging out doing homework together. No matter what, she plans on spending the rest of her undergraduate years working as hard as she can to succeed!