Hello! My name is Elka Hoelsken, and I am one of the new interns on the Student Farm here at Penn State. I am a junior majoring in Environmental Resource Management (Soil Sciences option) and minoring in Water/Watershed Resources. I am from a rural area about thirty minutes outside of Pittsburgh. Growing up, I lived right down the street from Raccoon Creek State Park. My parents were also members of a Nature Conservancy in Pittsburgh. I think these two factors shaped me into the tree-hugging environmentalist I consider myself today…and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. I still spend my free time hiking, kayaking, or anything outdoors really. My latest goal has been exploring local spots around State College, and I have certainly been impressed with much of the hidden natural beauty so close to our campus.
I am most excited about meeting members of this community and building new relationships through interning with the Student Farm. As a member of EcoReps, peer educators for sustainability at Penn State, I have had the opportunity to meet and speak with many students on campus. Coming from a small town, this gave me that sense of community I had lacked at first in attending a massive school. I valued these experiences greatly, but I have never had the opportunity to expand similar conversations with non-students or faculty living in State College which I look forward to doing. I am also very excited to get to know my fellow interns and the rest of the team. It feels like a long time since I’ve gotten to meet new people with similar interests!
As I mentioned before, I am in the Soil Sciences option of my degree. Many people probably didn’t know there was a whole section of sciences dedicated to studying “dirt”! Soil has been my newest interest since I’ve become a Penn State student. I can’t wait to get my hands dirty and apply my soils knowledge from the classroom to improve the food we grow. Other than applying previous knowledge, I look forward to hands-on learning. In high school, I worked for the Department of Conservation of Natural Resources and the Student Conservation Association at state parks around the city. While this was grueling work at times, I found that I learned more in one summer outside working with a team than I ever did from a textbook. As a kid, we had a small family garden, which taught me the basics of agriculture that I remember, but still, there is much to learn! I am very thankful for this unique opportunity and anticipate the skills, knowledge, friendships, and experience it will bring me!
