By Principe Guity Jr
You experience all the wonders of the environment in the northwest; the rainy days and nights, cold winters, and the absolutely gorgeous parks. It’s not surprising to find many of us Pacific Northwesterners are filed with great joy for the environment. Some people show their love in their words and others in their actions.
Earth Economics does both, and is offering the opportunity for interns to join their team. Since 1998, this non-profit organization has had businesses consult them about making the best decisions, that will do the least harm to the environment as possible.
On a bright Friday morning, I got the opportunity to ask Jean Jenson, an Operation and Research analyst at Earth Economics, a few questions pertaining to internships.
Jenson told me there are three traits they are looking for in an intern. A successful candidate would be “independent, dependable, and intuitive.” Independent in terms of working confidently on your own. Next, I wanted to know how important the role of an intern’s passion for the environment is to the internship. Jenson’s response was that it was very important and that “they should value nature and have a deeper understanding of the environment.”
According to Jenson, skills that an intern could gain include, “broad interdisciplinary skills such as writing, client relation, and technical skills. Building an understanding of a professional environment, and the dependability involved in showing up to a job. As well as, finding your own passion and being subjected to different career paths.” He added that these were key skills for every student to know.
After speaking to her about what interns get out of this exploratory journey, I wanted to know what ways an intern could be hands-on and what the benefit to that is. This internship offers the opportunity for interns to experience hands-on learning in ”[producing] reports and [sending] analysis to clients. One hands-on way interns would be interacting is through geographic information systems (or GIS), this involves mapping and adding layers of data about the environment and informing the public about it.”
There are three internship positions types available: business development, research analyst, and research assistant. A business development intern researches a foundation and finds funding. A research analyst intern’s job is to provide whatever research is needed, as well as help with general needs. This depends on individual project need, but could include a study such as the one Emily, a former intern, did on biodiversity in tropical tourist settings. The right person to fill the research assistant intern position would be someone that has good client relations.
When asked whether jobs are offered to interns after the internship has ended, Jenson explained that ”Anyone is welcome to apply for jobs with Earth Economics after the internship, but jobs being offered depend on Earth Economics’ financial situation. Bestowing a permanent position is difficult for an nonprofit.” Jenson herself started as an intern at a different non-profit and through those past connections, she ended up working at Earth Economics. An internship with Earth Economics can open doors for future work with the environment and nonprofits.
If you are interested in applying for an internship at Earth Economics, you can send an email to jjenson@economics.com with your resume, cover letter, a writing sample and letter of recommendation.
