After graduating from the University of North Carolina Asheville with a B.S. in Biology concentrating in botany, Jesse was looking for ways to put her knowledge and skills to use in a professional environment relevant to her studies. This led her to AmeriCorps Project conserve almost immediately after graduating college. Throughout her college years, Jesse became intuitively familiar with Western North Carolina’s landscape through many botanical fieldwork positions and courses, personal exploration, and volunteering opportunities. In doing this, she developed a comprehensive understanding of this land’s native communities; humans, plants, and animals, through folk medicine and herbalism practices and indigenous land management and usage traditions of the Cherokee people. Jesse’s primary professional interests include ecosystem restoration and conservation, botanical surveying, invasive plant management, sustainable agriculture, wildlife conservation, and other related topics. She is looking forward to an amazing service term, and eager to learn from those around her.