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My major is Environmental Science with a concentration in Compliance and Sustainability. I have minors in communication, ethics, and anthropology & geography.
I recently accepted a position in the Air Resources Division of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services as an intern with the Clean Cities Coalition, which does community outreach and education about alternative fuel options available in the state, like propane, electricity, biodiesel, and others. My official title is CCUWDP (Clean Cities University Workforce Development Program) Spring 2022 Intern.
I was hired to help out primarily with outreach communication and education. Some of my responsibilities in this role include creating and sharing social media content for the program, making the website more user-friendly, creating more content for the programs’ stakeholders – who are private and public vehicle fleet owners who are switching to alternative fuel sources – and the yearly newsletter, and helping organize and facilitate webinars.
I found this position via Handshake, and I also received an email about it from Jason Whitney, my career adviser. I am planning on pursuing a graduate degree in the fall in environmental science with a focus in education, someday hoping to do education outreach or teach in a classroom. This position connects to my career goals because it supports public education about ways to reduce greenhouse emissions, which I am passionate about. This job will also introduce me to different people in the environmental policy and advocacy field at the state level, which will expand my network of connections.
If I could give advice to my peers looking for jobs or internships, the most important thing to do is keep trying. I have had internships set up and then canceled many times over the past two years. The important thing is to keep applying, keep writing cover letters to highlight your strengths, and don’t be afraid to ask for help or guidance. When starting in a new role, I would say to keep an open mind, open heart, and be open to learning!
There have been a few instructors that have been impactful on my career search. First, Jason Whitney has been there for me all four years at SNHU. Through changing my major sophomore year, to meeting when I took PCC, to talking to me during the pandemic when I tried to get summer internships, to this year helping me with applications for internships and graduate school. Jason’s guidance and advice helped me harness my potential and use my strengths to my advantage to land a role I was passionate about.
PCC was a very helpful course in preparing me for applying to jobs. I remember doing many iterations of my cover letter, and I still use that format to this day. I also remember learning how to prepare for an interview, which taught me how to push aside my nerves before I meet a potential employer for the first time. My senior seminar course was also very helpful, because it helped me narrow down my interests and options into one final decision of what to do after graduation.
