When I walk down the street in New Orleans I see lush trees, vines growing on every wall, and lizards scampering across the road. But I am reminded that just a few miles from me, the swampland is going underwater at an alarming rate of 16 square miles a year, and large factories spewing pollutants into the air in the surrounding neighborhoods. These startling reminders are what fuel me to pursue a career in environmental conservation. As a rising junior pursuing a double major in Political Economy and International Development, with a minor in Spanish, I hope to use my knowledge of the law, economy, and environment to propel me on a path that will allow me to combine political engagement with international environmental protection.
This career goal led me to find a summer internship at Environmental Law Alliance Wordwide (ELAW), located in Oregon. ELAW is an international network of attorneys, scientists, and many others that seek to promote and protect efforts to build a more sustainable environment for our future. I will be working as a development and communications intern at their Oregon headquarters so I will be on the ground floor of this important work. Honestly, what I most hope to get out of this internship is something that I never could have seem coming. A lesson that allows me to open my mind to an entirely new outlook that I wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise. Although I cannot articulate the specifics of this goal in words, I believe it is incredibly important to keep myself open to new lessons and adventures because the unexpected lessons tend to be the most rewarding. Additionally, I hope to increase my knowledge of environmental law and policy through the network at ELAW, learn tangible writing and communications skills, and hone my personal career goals.
I am truly thrilled to be a part of the ELAW team for the summer. One of the things I find most important in life is the ability to embrace the Unknown that lies ahead of me and learn everything I can from it. The prospect of moving to Oregon for the summer for an internship that will be an entirely new experience is nothing if not the Unknown. This experience will not only allow me to be a large part of the movement towards environmental sustainability, it will also allow me to grow substantially as a person through living on my own and combining law and environmental protection.
The Newcomb College Institute (NCI) seeks to educate undergraduate women and promote leadership in the 21st century. I am confident that this internship will help me achieve these goals through testing my leadership skills in a new professional and law based setting (something I am not familiar with), and enrich my knowledge in the fields of international environmental policy and law.
I am confident that I will be able to make a positive change in the field of sustainable development and environmental protection through this internship and I am so excited to see where this summer leads!