What is WISDOM?
Established in 2019, Women In Science Discovering Our Mojave (WISDOM) is an MDLT internship that provides women from underrepresented communities with opportunities to engage in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields by gaining experience and conducting scientific research. The program fosters an environment of mentorship and career exploration by connecting female students with researchers and professionals, helping to develop the next generation of scientists.
WISDOM is supported by the Conservation Lands Foundation and is a collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management.
“The WISDOM internship has totally bolstered my enthusiasm and confidence as I progress towards becoming a field biologist. ”
“The Mojave Desert Land Trust opened doors to many opportunities where I was able to perform conservation work as a WISDOM intern and later on as a researcher for UC Davis. If it wasn’t for MDLT, I wouldn’t be the professional in Environmental Science I am today.”
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WISDOM in the news
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LAist
Growing up in Orange County, Stacey Yoon had never really seen the Milky Way. So when she saw a Facebook ad for an internship where she’d be measuring darkness in the middle of the Mojave Desert, she jumped on it. “Being in the desert, it just clears your mind a lot,” Yoon, a recent graduate of University of California Irvine, said. “It feels like you’re part of something way bigger.”
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Yahoo News
Mojave Trails National Monument might qualify as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, according to new data released Tuesday by the Mojave Desert Land Trust. Interns with the Mojave Desert Land Trust's Women in Science Discovering Our Mojave (WISDOM) program recently completed a year-long study measuring the sky's brightness at 16 locations in the monument.
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Travel + Leisure
At 1.6 million acres, it’s the largest national monument in the contiguous U.S. — and it’s almost entirely empty. “You can see the Milky Way here every night in a blanket of stars, and even globular clusters and our sister galaxy Andromeda,” said Elizabeth Paige, an intern on the Women In Science Discovering Our Mojave (WISDOM) research project, and a student at College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California
The WISDOM program is made possible through funding from Conservation Lands Foundation, Southern California Edison, and the Bureau of Land Management