Former Intern Lands NASA Internship

Congratulations to former Matthaei-Nichols Nature Academy intern Lara O’Brien. Lara landed an exciting and important internship this summer in the NASA Develop program.

Lara will be part of a five-person team working with NASA staff at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California.

The team will focus on the project “Maya Forest Water Resources: Using NASA Earth Observations to Map Wetlands for Traditional Agricultural Practices and Associated Impacts in the Maya Tri-National Forest.”

The internship lasts from early June to mid-August 7 and will be entirely remote this year because of COVID. Currently Lara lives in Ann Arbor and works at Brines Farm, a certified organic farm in Dexter, Mich.

Lara credits her Matthaei-Nichols internship and working with Mike Kost, Maricela Avalos and the rest of the Data & GIS summer intern team for giving her valuable experience in learning how to apply GIS and geospatial data to improve community engagement and enjoyment of the natural world. “I’m excited for the opportunity to learn more about the Maya Forest and to apply the skills I have learned at the University of Michigan and Matthaei to help conservation efforts in the region!” Lara says.