A shattered dream

A cost-cutting measure from the Trump administration laid off more than 200,000 federal workers hired within the last two years. Emma Freerks, who worked as a physical science technician at the Central Midwest Water Science Center, believes she is a victim of the move.

In July, Emma was hired for a probationary position, meaning she could have been offered a contracted position after a year.

Last Friday, a supervisor told her she was being let go from the center, which is under the U.S. Geological Survey, an agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“It was a little bit weird,” Emma said. “There were a lot of things being said and the main thing was that my supervisors did not want me to go.”

The next day, she got a letter from Cynthia Lodge, the deputy director of operations for the U.S. Geological Survey. The letter accused her of “failing to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment.”

“The thing is, I never had a meeting implying or even an official letter before then saying, ‘here is your performance review, you’re not doing a good job,’” Emma said.

In her role, Emma took water samples from streams across the country and separated the water from sediment.

“I was really excited to work for the U.S. Geological Survey,” Emma said. “I’ve always wanted to work as a civil servant doing science for the people.”

The role seemed to be the perfect fit, something she could even make a career out of.

“When they told me about this job, it was because my supervisors are getting to the point where they’re getting ready to retire, and so they were looking for someone to take over their position,” Emma said.

The former federal worker is concerned being terminated in this manner might cause a ripple effect.

“I have a fear that I might be denied unemployment, and this could possibly be on my record forever,” Emma said.

Emma said a number of her colleagues were also let go. She does want to continue doing environmental work and will likely apply for some other jobs outside the state of Iowa.