A job is not just for money, a job is an opportunity.

I've spent most of my lifetime getting an education, and when I graduated college in May I was left with the hanging question; "What next?"

In the scramble and the chaotic weeks before graduation while I balanced work, classes, our Capstone project and packing all of my things so I could move to Colorado, I sent out a few applications and happily I heard back from one of them.

My first job in Colorado was at a summer camp where we taught kids from ages 7 to 14 how to kayak, canoe and standup paddle board. We even taught sailing, but I didn't know enough to teach the campers about it.

If you've heard the old saying that "every job is an opportunity" you may be familiar with the wisdom of this statement. However, this is not simply a "leave it up to fate" thing. If you don't put in an effort to make every job an opportunity to not only better yourself but to meet people who may influence your future, then a job will simply be a paycheck and nothing more.

While I worked at the summer camp I pondered what exactly it was I wanted to do for a career. I had acquired a degree in Wildlife Ecology because that was what I loved and I wanted to share my love and appreciation for nature with others, but I wasn't sure what career path was best for that.

I found that I enjoyed teaching kids at summer camp to canoe and kayak, and once a week the Audubon Society would come and teach the campers about birds and butterflies. 

Those days were my favorite, but I soon became frustrated when I found that I was alone in my enthusiasm for watching nature, and while I constantly pointed out birds and insects to the campers, only a few returned the enthusiasm and I felt that long term this was not the place for me.

My boss at the summer camp noticed my love for nature however, and invited me to a cleanup and Lake appreciation day at Barr Lake.

It was this appreciation day that made me realize that perhaps a job as a park ranger was exactly the job I was looking for. I could teach and work with people who enjoyed nature and had appreciation for the great outdoors.

However, it was then late in the season, and no park was hiring, and another job was suggested to me.

I could work as an aquatic nuisance species (ANS) boat inspector, and it should increase my odds of getting a state park job because ANS boat inspectors are always needed. 

Summer camp ended, and I worked at the boat house rental while I was trained to be a boat inspector. The end of August and early September were absurdly busy, as coworkers left for college or high school, and the lucky few who were out of school worked 50 hour weeks to make up for the loss of coworkers in a very, very busy season. 

I looked on the bright side while at work. Sure, I was tired and work was busy, but I had a great "office" view and I did my best to maintain a positive attitude for the steady stream of customers.

While working at the boat house, I became friends with one lady who wanted to help guide me in my career selection, and her advice has been irreplaceable. If I had not maintained such a positive attitude at work, I never would have befriended her and never would have received her helpful advice.

Finally the "off season" came about, and things quieted down considerably.

And I got a whole new "office view"

As a boat inspector in the off season, I checked incoming and outgoing boats to make sure they are Cleaned, Drained and Dry (something we like to tell all boat owners). 

This meant I had a lot of down time too however, and I took advantage of this time to take more notice of the world around me.

Back in Maine, while we had plenty of hawks and other raptors, I had never stopped to try and figure out what they were. Now that I was in a new place and was trying to learn the names of every animal species I could see, I decided it was high time I work on my birding skills. 

Every day at work I made sure my binoculars were with me (a good wildlife ecology student always had binoculars with them, this was something my professor regularly reminded us). 

The first hawk I learned and became pretty good at identifying was one I already knew. Osprey.

However, they were soon gone, flying south to warmer weather.

Then I learned red-tailed hawks and American kestrels, which I saw nearly every day.

My friend whom I met at the boat house taught me how to identify a Northern harrier, which soon became one of my favorites because of their owl-like faces.

Around October the bald eagles were nesting at the reservoir, and on my early morning shifts I could hear the quiet conversation of two great horned owls calling back and forth.

I realized that even though my job is not glamorous and does not require the degree I worked hard on getting, I had found something to love about the job and all I had to do was look around.

Pair of bald eagles

I used by binoculars for this photo of a red-tailed hawk.

A flock of starlings

It had just stopped snowing in the mountains, the trees yellow with Fall, and the sun had just come out. I took this photo while walking back from closing the gate at work.

 Leaving work one day I had stopped to take a few pictures of the full moon. They pictures weren't great, but that was fine. I turned to get in my car when I saw something on the telephone pole. At first I thought it was just a hawk, and then it turned its head and I almost couldn't breath when I realized what I was looking at. A great horned owl had perched in the pole and was watching me.

Great horned owl and the full moon.

Great horned owl

American kestrel

American kestrel in flight

My current supervisor has been an enormous help as well, and I feel like I have a lot more options and a much better view of my path then a did just a half year ago when I received my diploma.

This job has been a great opportunity to meet people and better my knowledge of Colorado.

I may have gotten my diploma, but this does not mean my education is over, because so long as I choose to keep learning and exploring new things I'm still a student, and that's a great thing to be.