USGS Multimedia Gallery: (Video)--Teresa Ramos: Pushing the Envelope

Screen Text: California Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior

Teresa Ramos, High School Intern at U.S. Geological Survey: Hi, I'm Teresa Ramos, I'm 18 years old and I graduated from Kearny High School.

Screen text: Pushing the Envelope: Teresa Ramos reflects on her internship with the USGS & applying for the Gates Millennium Scholarship. Teresa applied for an internship at the California Water Science Center for the Summer of 2011.

Teresa: I applied to this internship when I was a Junior.

Mike Land Hydrologist, USGS: We were looking for someone to help us process and analyze a number of water samples here at the San Diego projects office.

Teresa: When they told me you have the job, and we're going to introduce you to Mike Land, and I didn't know what I was going to do, I was terrified, so I had to overcome that fear, and say, you know what, if I applied for this internship, then I can do whatever they tell me to do. It's been challenge after challenge after challenge, and I think that's made me grow, you know, not just as a person, but also as a scientist.

Mike: One of the things I really value when I work with Teresa is, in addition to her being smart and picking things up quickly, she has, she has a real high level of attention to detail.

Screen text: In January 2012 Teresa applied for the Gates Millennium Scholarship, www.gmsp.org.

Teresa: The Gates Millennium Scholarship looks for minority students that excel at school. When you get the award for the Gates Scholarship, they cover everything that financial aid does not. They really encourage you to not take any loans out, because that's what they are there for.

Screen text: Teresa went through three rounds in the selection process before learning if she would receive the scholarship.

Teresa: That day I was at work, and when I got out, I took the bus like normally, and I get picked up at a stop before I get home, my guardian, she came and she said, "there is something waiting at home for you". I was dying to get home and we were both just grabbing onto the car, like talking to the car, "go faster, go faster", it was, we were both really excited. And then, when we got there, I saw the envelope on the kitchen table, and my heart started pounding so fast. My guardian's daughter, she's like my little sister, she comes next to me, and she looks at me she says, why aren't you opening it? And, I said, Alley I need to calm down first, and, I was shaking. So, when I opened them out, I see a packet and it says, Gates Millennium Scholarship, and I opened it, and there's a certificate saying "Congratulations, you're a Gates Millennium Scholar", and we all cried. The scholarship is really going to help me in the future. If I go straight to a University, that's just gonna make me grow so much that I'm not going to let go of my dream of becoming a scientist. I always thought that I could do it, but having, having a person that doesn't know you at all actually sponsor you to go to school, I think that has more than inspired me to keep on going.

Mike: One of the things that excites me the most is, again, as I said earlier, her overall interest in chemistry, and that she's going to be going on to San Diego State University this fall, her work so far has been very good, and we're looking forward to perhaps, just employing her all through college.

Teresa: I think that this internship helped me get my scholarship. It was such a big experience in my life. I know that it was really significant.

Screen text: Teresa was one of 1000 students to receive the scholarship. She continues to work as a Hydrologic Technician for the California Water Science Center, USGS.