2021 Summer Sustainability Interns
Pronouns: she/her
Class year: 2022
Major: Environmental Studies
Minor: Entrepreneurship
Hometown: Naas, Ireland
What three words would you use to describe Lewis & Clark?
Supportive, Accepting, Engaging
Can you tell us what you’re doing this summer? What are your basic duties as an intern?
This summer, I have been working as a development intern at the environmental nonprofit Acterra. My role has been focused on organizing a community recognition event to reconnect volunteers, ambassadors, and other members of the organization. Project management, community outreach, and developing my technical skills have been a major part of my daily work life.
How has Lewis & Clark supported you in the process of finding, securing, and/or funding your internship?
The Summer Sustainability Internship course not only connected me with a paid internship, but supported my process through it. Instructors Meredith Goddard and Amy Dvorak went above and beyond to provide us with the resources and skills we needed to utilize our internships. Faculty at L&C want to help students grow and succeed, and that is where I have felt most supported.
How do you see this internship leading to a career in your chosen field and aiding in your overall career development?
I hope to combine my two passions of environmental work and interior design for my future career. My work as the development intern allowed me to bring the different skills from those passions and create an event that is sustainable, inclusive and fun!
How does this internship support your interest in sustainability?
Working alongside professionals in the environmental sector has been influential in growing my interest. The more experience and exposure I have, the more passion and insight I gain for my future career.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your experience thus far?
The internships I have participated in have added real-world experience to many of the topics and issues we learn about in our classes. Any internship program offered at L&C is beneficial for students to potentially see how their education may align to a potential career.
Pronouns: she/her
Class year: 2022
Major: Sociology and Anthropology
Hometown: Peterborough, New Hampshire
What three words would you use to describe Lewis & Clark?
Kind, Small, Impactful
Can you tell us what you’re doing this summer? What are your basic duties as an intern?
I worked for the Environmental Learning Center (ELC) at Clackamas Community College. I assisted them in a few areas of their work. I wrote a new management plan for the Community Garden space, planned and led three volunteer events at the Learning Center, and helped pack their Nature Spy Explorer Kits to be sent to children.
How has Lewis & Clark supported you in the process of finding, securing, and/or funding your internship?
During spring semester, I was presented with an opportunity to interview with organizations specifically working with the sustainability course. I received great support from Amy Dvorak in preparing for my interviews and deciding which opportunities I wanted to take. I received a stipend, but also received additional funding from the sustainability department for the work that I did. The class met throughout my internship. That was a great place for me to think about the work I was doing and how school, sustainability, and the working world all connect for me.
How do you see this internship leading to a career in your chosen field and aiding in your overall career development?
This internship showed me one of the many ways I can work with people and the outdoors. For my future career, I hope to engage people with the natural world in their own community. The ELC offers that in a few different ways. They have rehired me to help them in the fall and am excited to see where that opportunity leads.
How does this internship support your interest in sustainability?
I think taking part in the natural world wherever you are is a crucial part of sustainability and environmental work. The ELC is located at the headwaters to Newell Creek in Oregon City and takes great pride in the role the space plays in cleaning and cooling the creek water before it flows through the watershed. There are trails and gathering spaces along the creek that are open to the public. I love places where nature can be found within more urban environments, and where sustainability can be taught to anyone who passes through.
Pronouns: they/them
Class year: 2024
Major: Religious Studies
Minors: Middle East and North African Studies (MENA), Ethnic Studies (double)
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
What three words would you use to describe Lewis & Clark?
Home Sweet Home
Can you tell us what you’re doing this summer? What are your basic duties as an intern?
During my internship, I helped with social media posts and promotional pieces for CREATE!’s Reforestation Campaign. I mainly focused on their July Bonus Day Event with GlobalGiving where higher donors can match other donation amounts for various nonprofits globally. Thanks to all of our work as a team, we were able to raise over $10,000 to plant 30,000 trees in rural Senegal. This internship has not only taught me a lot about social media management, digital design, and workplace communication, but has also helped me on my academic journey as a religious studies major and double minor in Middle East and North African (MENA) studies and ethnic studies.
How has Lewis & Clark supported you in the process of finding, securing, and/or funding your internship?
The Sustainability Internship class helped me greatly. They provided an opportunity with CREATE! and someone to guide me through the application process. Having someone help with that, and answer any questions I had, relieved some stress. I am also grateful that the Sustainability Office funded my unpaid internship by giving me a stipend.
How do you see this internship leading to a career in your chosen field and aiding in your overall career development?
As a religious studies major and MENA minor, I have wondered about nonprofit work as a career option since I enjoy it so much. Learning and talking with my internship colleagues has been a great experience, especially since I’ve also been introduced to other nonprofits in Oregon. I’m interested in homesteading once I get my own place, so learning about agriculture and gardening practices in Senegal has been educational for me. I was able to gain communication and digital design experience while also being able to learn more about sustainability, nonprofit management, and West African culture in the process! I am still in contact with the team and, once I start my overseas program in Morocco, I will see when I can visit the CREATE! headquarters in Senegal!
How does this internship support your interest in sustainability?
My interest in sustainability focuses on how it can impact the lives of people in our world. It was amazing to talk with some of the field staff living in Senegalese villages, work with them directly on projects, and share how CREATE! has had a direct impact on their lives.
