Direct Hire Authority intern excels with the BLM Las Cruces District

For eleven weeks this summer, the BLM Las Cruces District was fortunate to have Malorie Barrera, a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) archaeology intern, to accomplish a very important project critical to the District's management of cultural resources on public land.  
A resident of San Antonio and "soon to be" graduate from Texas State University, Barrera was instrumental in establishing a standardized filing system for cultural resources, including filing and organizing over 700 cultural reports. In order to complete this heavy workload, she was able to understand the importance of the information she was reviewing and quickly became an expert on the different archaeological recording types. 

Before the end of her internship, Malorie gave a presentation on her project accomplishments to the District staff. 

Before she developed the filing system, Barrera spent some time getting to know the BLM and how the cultural resource records serve to implement federal regulations and policy, as well as support the agency's mission. As she explained, "I had a little bit of a learning curve because I come from Texas, where the land is all private and the state does not have BLM-managed public land." 
Kendrah Penn, District Recreation and Cultural supervisor, said, "Malorie is a quick learner, and was able to apply her knowledge and design an excellent filing process.  She also added specific protocols to maintain an efficient and workable filing system the cultural team could easily follow." 
According Penn, "Malorie was disciplined in meeting all of her internship milestones."  She also had the opportunity to go out into the field with several District specialists to experience and learn about the BLM resources and how a career in anthropology and biology interacts with other natural resource disciplines. 
 

Getting out into the field helped Malorie understand the importance of BLM's multiple-use resource work. 

Barrera is set to graduate in December 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in anthropology, specializing in forensic anthropology, and biology. In addition, she is interested in pursuing a graduate degree in microbiology. Her personal motto is, "To educate the world." She believes that through leadership, education, open mindedness and objectivity, these practices will create better social environments and better future leaders. 
"I was elated to have this special opportunity to be a part of the BLM Las Cruces District and learn as much as I could in 11 weeks. I especially like how the BLM mission of multiple-use and sustained yield for future generations matches my own personal values and passion for the environment," Barrera said. 
 
The BLM Las Cruces District Recreation and Cultural Team gather for a staff meeting and to applaud Malorie's work and discuss the week's workload. 
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) was the BLM partner organization that sponsored Barrera. The HACU's motto of championing Hispanic success and opening the doors to career opportunities held true for Barrera's summer internship. She is ready to continue her pursuit of a career in the Department of the Interior or other parts of government. Any BLM office would be lucky to have her energy, passion and dynamic personality.

Story by Deborah Stevens, Public Affairs Specialist. Photos by BLM District Staff.