Alivia Acosta

Alivia Acosta

Name: Alivia Acosta

Age: 21

Current City/State: Unity, ME

Hometown: Yonkers, NY

Education: Parks and Forest Resources at Unity College

Trail Represented: Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Federal Agency/Nonprofit Employer: Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Internship Title: National Service Coordinator

Scope of Internship: Alivia Acosta works with the trail maintaining clubs on the northern half of the AT, learning about volunteer stewardship opportunities they are hosting, and posting that information to the ATC’s website. After successfully posting events, she and her southern counterpart, Katie Houston, work to promote their posts, as well as track the data that they collect from each volunteer who registers. Their analysis of this data will then be presented to all of the trail maintaining clubs along the AT at the end of the summer.

Favorite moment/Biggest achievement of internship: Working with the different clubs throughout the trail, as well as having the opportunity to find and highlight a Volunteer of the Month, which can hard because there are so many dedicated volunteers on the Appalachian Trail.

Future career aspirations: I want my career to be focused on making the outdoors a more inclusive space and to encourage personal growth through community service, such as trail work!

How has the internship prepared you for the future: It has given me experience in working with people over the internet and has made me more capable of conveying messages to the public.