Samantha Vigil is always on the go! She loves to try new things and is always looking for activities to try. This is certainly clear when you look at her accomplishments. As she pursues her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies at Sacramento State, she works as a scientific aid for the State Water Resources Control Board in the Stormwater Section. Additionally, she is a loving mother to her 5-year-old boy who constantly inspires her with his curiosity to continue learning! When she is not studying, working or learning with her son, you can usually find her out on a trail. In fact, she just completed her first trail ultramarathon in September!
After growing up in Woodland, CA and spending most of her life in the Sacramento area, Sam worked as a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) then as a stay at home mom. One spring, she took a vacation to visit a friend in Alaska who was studying geology at the University of Fairbanks. This experience of being outdoors, including an overnight camping trip at the Arctic Circle, and learning about the geology of the area changed her life. After this trip, Sam knew she did not want to continue a career in healthcare but instead decided to pursue a career that allowed her to spend more time outdoors learning about the world around her. Luckily, she had a lot of family support and was able to go back to school and start learning about the environment.
This new path led Sam to work at Sierra Streams Institute last spring as an intern. Throughout her internship, Sam was involved in countless projects. Her favorite experiences involved spending time in the field. Reflecting back on conducting chorus frog surveys, she states “They are just so cute and it was fascinating finding the eggs and spotting them around the ponds.” Sam also took an important role in our water quality monitoring programs where she helped collect samples in the field and process them in the lab. “I also really enjoyed working in the water quality lab. The whole process was sort of soothing with all the routines and steps. And then figuring out how to make the process more efficient as I got better at measuring and preparing the samples for analysis.”
We are lucky enough to have Sam return this summer in order to continue learning with us and complete another internship! If you are interested in joining Sam this summer in our internship program, we still have some positions available this summer. Please check out our opportunities here!
“Definitely a sloth! (no preference on 2 or 3 toed, though!) I think they are just adorable animals and I love watching videos of them going about their daily lives. As a busy and active human, they always remind me of the importance to slow down every now and then to take in my surroundings and enjoy the moments. Plus, I am really fascinated by the entire ecosystem of algae that lives in their fur!”
If you could interview anyone from your life living or dead, but not a celebrity, who would it be and why?
“I would love to sit down and have a long chat with John Muir. I love reading stories about him and his adventures in Yosemite and think he would just tell such amazing stories.”