Blog Entry #2

This week was spent looking for potential mentors. I needed to find a total of twenty-five potential contacts by the end of the week and it proved to be much harder than I expected. Many conservationists (especially ones working for government agencies) do not post their contact information online and I could add only the organization’s contact information, not that of individual employees. This made the contact search much more difficult because, in many cases, I could only get one contact per organization. There is a large variety of conservation groups in and around Dallas. I expected to find federal organizations such as Fish and Wildlife and the Army Corps of Engineers, but did not expect to find as many private, non-profit organizations as I did. Most are limited only to one location and focus on a specific ecosystem or animal. Right now, I prefer the the smaller organizations because they are focused only on my community, while the larger groups are focused on broad areas. However, by working under a mentor in a larger organization, it will be easier to make connections with people in different areas where I may want to work. The interview process will help me make my final decision and get a feel for different organizations and who I would like to work under.