Megha Karthik 

she/her

• Arboretum Ambassador Co-Coordinator 2024-25, Arboretum Ambassador Apprentice 2023-24, Nature Rx Apprentice 2022-23, Nursery Intern 2022
• Major: Landscape Architecture, Class of 2025 

The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden has been a crucial part of my college experience, and I am grateful for every opportunity and experience that I had through this program. I first heard about the program at the end of my first quarter here in Davis and immediately tried to work myself into the program by emailing Taylor Lewis, and to my delight, he emailed me back welcoming me into the Learning by Leading™ Program as an intern under the Nursery Propagation and Management Team in Winter 2022. Since then, I have been in the program as a Nature Rx Apprentice, as an Arboretum Ambassador Apprentice, and now as an Arboretum Ambassador Co-coordinator. In my most recent role, I helped lead a team of 6 interns through public outreach and organizational support to the other teams in the Learning by Leading™ program. 

Learning by Leading™ has aligned with my passion for community outreach and connection between natural space and design by creating opportunities for me to directly engage with volunteers, students on campus, and local community through event planning and participation. By being an Arboretum Ambassador, not only do I get to speak to hundreds of people and see what activities and engagement methods can connect people closer to nature, but also be able to take on roles under the Learning by Leading™ program to better understand all the different roles it takes to run a public garden and one that is designed to showcase a plethora of plant communities from around the world. 

One of the projects I got to work on through the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden was helping set up a town hall for the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve. For this project, I worked with Andrew Fulks and a multidisciplinary firm, ICF, which created iterations of proposed changes they would like to make to a section of the reserve to make it more ecologically friendly and recreational. I was tasked to plan the event with the model of one they had done before, enlisting the help and training 6 other Learning by Leading™ students to learn the background of the project and the proposed sites so that they would be able to answer public questions about the project. This was one of my favorite projects because as a Landscape Architecture major, I was able to delve into a community feedback project on site design and get real answers that will only help the design connect better to the land and the people that live there. 

When it comes to my leadership skills, the Learning by Leading™ program has given me so much. I have learned that being a leader is more than being able to delegate, as being able to use my strengths to the best of their ability to help others succeed is crucial. It is about making the work that might not seem enticing into something worthwhile because every job has meaning to it. Working as an apprentice and a co-coordinator, I have been able to take on individual projects along with work with my co-coordinator, Toa, to lead a team of 6 interns. We work with our interns’ strengths to assign tasks to those that empower their own interests, whether that be art, logistics, or public speaking. Something that I have learned from the program is the small things to take into consideration when engaging the public, whether it be the way in which we speak about the content of our outreach, being confident and ready to answer any question, or preparing activities to best interest the public, being creative and flexible to best fit the needs of others. I think using public speaking, flexibility, communication, and individualization of people has really helped me be a better leader. 

Since I have moved around in the Arboretum and Public Garden a few times, I have had a couple staff mentors. My first being, Taylor Lewis, who was just a beam of light. He taught me that a leader is someone strong, kind, and present. In every moment I was with him I felt connected and heard and I hope to carry that with me wherever I go now. My second being Stacey Parker, who brought so much passion and aim to her cause of Nature Rx. Her leadership was one that carried emotion and focus at the same time to find a way to work systems to best support her community. And lastly, Melissa Cruz Hernandez has helped me be a better leader by just being an amazing role model of one. She leads with a smile and a sense of understanding. I have learned from her that being a leader does not mean forcing yourself to be an intimidating leader or one that has to be serious to get the job done, but instead just be respectful of yourself and others will follow. I admire how she is able to tackle so much yet still find the joy and positivity in each moment. I am so lucky to have been surrounded by leaders that are able to take their own strengths and utilize them to students to only bolster their own. 

Through outreach, I have talked to hundreds of students. One of the things that makes me the most fulfilled is tabling an event, talking to a student about their interests, and soon finding them on a Learning by Leading™ team with a smile on their face and a positive and grateful attitude that is infectious. When I think about how the Learning by Leading™ program impacts the UC Davis community, I think of this. It has given so many students an opportunity they would not get elsewhere to work in natural fields and truly steer so many students onto a career path they may have never considered. The cross-pollination of teams also gives students a chance to find a community that has been so important to myself and others. Having community gives students a break from the stress they find academically. Hands-on work that allows them to remove themselves and stay grounded. I have been able to connect with not only other students but work with the volunteers who always bring a smile to my face. 

The Learning by Leading™ program has affected my career trajectory by giving me more clarity and purpose in what I want to accomplish as a future Landscape Architect. I have realized that I want to keep working with the community, because at the end of the day no site is designed well if it is not intended for the people that walk among it. I am grateful for learning how to engage different audiences and connect to people on a personal level to understand how they really feel about a space. Working in such a curated garden only emphasized how much I love the educational elements and healing properties that the Arboretum can offer to the public. It has opened new ideas for me in leadership that I did not consider before. I am really grateful for my time in this program and would love to do something like this in the future for students in an educational space.