LINK Description
LINK at Animas is about exploring a career of interest for three weeks. students set out into the world, some stay in town, some travel to other states, and some even travel internationally. Students learn on the job about a specific skillset like plumbing, for example. It is a very useful and important part of Animas culture.
My LINK Internship
I worked with Robert Dominguez, a local handyman/contractor. He works all over La Plata County doing any kind of maintenance or building job. He does electrical, plumbing, carpentry and all facets of building. I worked with Robert on several projects including, Roofs, skylights, ponds, walls and so many things.
My LINK Project
For my LINK Project I decided I wanted to build a crow box. I found a video on Tik Tok about a lady who sets out peanuts in her bird box and they like to give her little presents in return like coins, or marbles or acorns. I was inspired by this and thought it would be fun to build something similar. I built a box that I attached to my house. i put a bowl for a bird bath and put a peanut dispenser in.
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My Crow Box
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I haven't received any gifts yet but here is a picture of what the lady has received so far.
LINK Reflection
My LINK internship turned out to be an awesome experience. I start out with that statement because it was my second choice after my first one fell through. I worked with Robert Dominquez who is a contractor/handyman who owns his own business. I went into LINK knowing some basic skills about building things and home repairs and I came out of it with a better understanding of the process of building something from start to finish; from planning to building to completed project. I have more confidence now in my abilities to problem solve and work though projects and repairs than I did before LINK.
One of the projects I worked on was building a water pump and filter for a backyard pond filled with slime because the pumps were not working effectively. We brainstormed the issue, reducing slime, and decided to build a filter from scratch and switch the positions of the pumps to be in their optimal positions. The filter was made using a large plastic box filled up halfway with lava rocks and then a layer of sponges; 100% homemade. We played around with the placement of the filter and pumps and had many failures. There were a lot of challenges. like parts breaking to inefficiency. After trial and error, the pump was in the right location for the job.
I learned about pumps and filters and how easy it is to build something yourself with everyday materials for much less money than buying something prebuilt. It felt very satisfying to see the pump and filter progress to a functioning piece of equipment. It was my favorite project because it involved a lot of problem-solving and being creative with materials.
Before LINK I was a little more cautious with repairs and maintenance projects that my mom asked me to do. I would avoid some projects because I felt they were too difficult or too gross. After LINK I feel confident that I can tackle most projects. Last weekend I installed a swamp cooler and it involved setting the tubing up in an outside water box. Before LINK I never would’ve had the confidence to do that project or the guts to reach my hands inside the spider webby box and let the rusty water run over my hands. Instead, I dove right in and that feels great. I have the skills and the confidence to take risks with projects and trust myself that I can do the job well.
I think LINK is super important because it helps you figure out what you might want to do for a career. You’re supposed to choose an area of interest so you get to explore the job to see if you actually like it or not. That is very important when we are all about to go out into the world. For me, I want to be a pilot and I wasn’t able to secure an internship in aviation. What I did for LINK gave me good life skills and I will use them for the rest of my life. I won’t likely be a handyman or a contractor but I did gain really great skills and had an awesome experience.
One of the projects I worked on was building a water pump and filter for a backyard pond filled with slime because the pumps were not working effectively. We brainstormed the issue, reducing slime, and decided to build a filter from scratch and switch the positions of the pumps to be in their optimal positions. The filter was made using a large plastic box filled up halfway with lava rocks and then a layer of sponges; 100% homemade. We played around with the placement of the filter and pumps and had many failures. There were a lot of challenges. like parts breaking to inefficiency. After trial and error, the pump was in the right location for the job.
I learned about pumps and filters and how easy it is to build something yourself with everyday materials for much less money than buying something prebuilt. It felt very satisfying to see the pump and filter progress to a functioning piece of equipment. It was my favorite project because it involved a lot of problem-solving and being creative with materials.
Before LINK I was a little more cautious with repairs and maintenance projects that my mom asked me to do. I would avoid some projects because I felt they were too difficult or too gross. After LINK I feel confident that I can tackle most projects. Last weekend I installed a swamp cooler and it involved setting the tubing up in an outside water box. Before LINK I never would’ve had the confidence to do that project or the guts to reach my hands inside the spider webby box and let the rusty water run over my hands. Instead, I dove right in and that feels great. I have the skills and the confidence to take risks with projects and trust myself that I can do the job well.
I think LINK is super important because it helps you figure out what you might want to do for a career. You’re supposed to choose an area of interest so you get to explore the job to see if you actually like it or not. That is very important when we are all about to go out into the world. For me, I want to be a pilot and I wasn’t able to secure an internship in aviation. What I did for LINK gave me good life skills and I will use them for the rest of my life. I won’t likely be a handyman or a contractor but I did gain really great skills and had an awesome experience.