Daniela Carrillo joined the GOCO team as a student intern in August 2024!
What did you do before you came to GOCO?
I am currently a sophomore at Arrupe Jesuit High School. I am Latin-American and am most excited about the Spanish classes I’m taking to become more fluent with my Spanish skills. I want to be a better bilingual speaker for my future dream job, which is to be a real estate agent. I want to be able to speak Spanish to those who don’t speak English. I also recently started learning how to play guitar as a hobby.
What brought you to GOCO?
Arrupe allows its students the opportunity to have work experience as part of its corporate work-study program. This helps us prepare for our future in the workforce. For my internship, I chose to work at GOCO because I love to be outside and connect with nature. I like being part of an organization that helps adults and kids connect with nature, and I like knowing this team continues to help the outdoors be better than it was.
What has been your favorite part of working here so far?
My favorite part is knowing that I am surrounded by a loving community of co-workers who are caring and appreciative. On my first day, my coworkers were compassionate and it was clear that they are all really in love with their jobs. They are extremely welcoming to new people, supportive of new projects, and are always ready to give the best feedback.
What is your typical day like?
My typical day is usually always calm, and I always have a smile on my face. I go to school with a positive mindset ready to learn to succeed and be prepared for my future. I help my teachers with whatever I can because I know they work really hard to give me and the rest of the kids a good education. After school, I help my family clean because they get really busy with work and errands. I usually use my phone for an hour and then take a walk before I go to bed, because walks and nature help me destress and have my mind cleared to be prepared for the next day.
What is your favorite place to get outdoors in Colorado?
My favorite place to be outside is Winter Park because they have a lot of trails available year-round. There is a lake where people ice skate during the winter season. During the summer, the trails are cleared and the beautiful nature sprouts out, and sometimes they even let people plant flowers. I also like to play soccer at parks and open spaces.
What is your most memorable outdoors experience?
My most memorable outdoor mishap is when I went to hike at Garden of the Gods with my family. We had a picnic after our hike and enjoyed nature and the naturally formed rocks. We saw a lot of cool plants we had never seen before.
Have you spotted any wildlife in Colorado?
When I was at a three-day retreat for my church, I saw a bear attack five deer all at once. There was a lot of loud noise coming from surrounding people and cars, so the bear got scared away and took one deer with it.