Why do you want an internship with the Office of Sustainability?*
Interning for the Office of Energy and Sustainability (OES) would be an unforgettable and
advantageous opportunity for me. Studying sustainable biomaterials and becoming an intern with
OES will allow me to reach my future career aspirations. These goals include finding safe and
responsible methods for developing our domestic energy resources, cleaner ways of mitigating of
greenhouse gasses and toxic air pollutants, and promoting sustainability and environmental
stewardship through policy and law. The Office of Energy and Sustainability would give me the
exposure I require to excel in this field. Often times we are told that in order to be successful in a
professional career path, we need the adequate experience. I firmly believe the OES could give
me this much-needed experience.
The Office of Energy and Sustainability offers several programs and events that motivate me to
become an intern. I have participated in events, such as Sustainability Week, hosted by the OES.
Events such as these have allowed me to reflect on what it means to be sustainable. These
reflections gave me the drive to apply for this internship because I want to teach others about the
importance of sustainability and green living. The work the OES does in terms of outreach has
also inclined me to become part of a group that strives to make positive change on the Virginia
Tech Campus.
Why would you like to
Also they added their environmental concerns and the actions the take to save it by waste
I have attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the last two years. I will be entering my junior year pursuing a Bachelor Degree of Science with a major in Environmental Studies. My career interests entail green energy and natural resource management. I was a young child when I started attending a summer camp program that emphasized nature and environmental conservation—ever since I have made outdoor activities into hobbies and continued interest in environmental sustainability. The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh focuses on sustainability through green building, alternative and solar energy, and curbing pollution.
“Many current discussions about sustainability focus on the ways in which human activity...can be maintained in the future without exhausting all of our current resources… there has been a close correlation between the growth of human society and environmental degradation - as communities grow, the environment often declines” (603).
Nonetheless the projects were considerably fun and intriguing. I am interested in researching sustainability because I not only have experience but admiration for sustainability in general. I enjoy gaining new perspectives and new ways to organize infrastructure. In particular I want to research sustainable communities who meet energy demands and food security with the use of sustainable practices. I would like to examine how the results of sustainability in these communities reshape equality, environmental health, and human
Help to identify the several impacts on the sustainability and help to get relevant corrective actions
I am writing to apply for an internship through the Ted Smith Conservation Internship Program, a program that I learned about through the Environmental Science advising office at Iowa State University. I am excited to learn about this opportunity, and I believe that I would be an excellent fit for the program.
Sustainability With the increase in global warming, sustainability and resilience plays a very important role. Sustainability is usually defined as meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Hudson 2013). Resilience is the ability of a system to withstand disturbances and continue to function in a sustainable manner (Tagtow et al., 2014). The office of sustainability brings the SF State community together to work towards a more sustainable, resilient, and efficient campus. The three main areas which I got attracted to, as a dietetic student are as follows: Energy efficiency: SF State is focused on reducing energy use on campus and procuring renewable energy and it has surpassed its goal of reducing overall energy use by 15% by 2010 as compared to 2003.
I currently help service the community by giving back time through volunteering at different non-profit organizations as well as being involved with MSU Tutoring in the Office of Community Service at Morgan State University. I currently help the environment by recycling and volunteering at the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore once a month. Before I graduate from Morgan State University I would like to create an Environmental Organization that focuses on consumption, recycle, and disposal issues within the Black Community. Once I am stationed on a Naval base I would get involved with the local community by empowering, and educating youth on STEM majors, especially minority females. I want future generations to know there are diverse career opportunities that differ from the standard teacher, doctor, and lawyer responses usually heard in school. I would also always recycle and become involved in organizations that focus on keeping Earth sustainable for all of
How do you want to get involved and contribute to VCU and the Richmond community?
The Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at UCSC will help me achieve these goals in numerous ways. Firstly,
Through working with clubs within my school and community I have volunteered at a number of river and road cleanups. The pollution in my town is overwhelming when you are the one cleaning up the environment and it makes one stop and think about why their community would not take better care of the earth. As an ambassador for the National Society of High School Scholars I would be able to inspire my generation to take better care of the earth by recycling and not littering. By educating my generation I believe we could start a serious movement which would tackle the problem of pollution not only in my community but in all communities in America and
I discovered I had a passion for pursuing a career in the clean energy industry and I wanted to delve deeper into the various sub-sectors to determine where I fit best, which led to the revision of my ninth goal (see Appendix B) to include the goal of “better understanding my desired role in the clean energy industry and the necessary steps to achieve these ambitions.” In addition, I wanted to enhance my skillset – which include interpersonal, communication and organizational skills – and complete the internship with a range of new skills. Through my position, I was fortunate enough to have many professional development experiences, which led to networking, outreach and leading and organizing meetings. Perhaps, the biggest lesson of all was how essential building your network will be to achieving your goals. This led to revision of my seventh goal to include networking and outreach as the desired skills I received. These two professional goals are reflective of what I hope to achieve in the future and hence why I took on my current internship.
1. Envirofit International is a social enterprise, in my opinion, because it has succeeded to accomplish the last bottom line measure of financial sustainability. The enterprise began knowing the retrofit kit was going to help the environment from harmful carbureted 2-stroke motorcycle emissions (90% reduction in unburned hydrocarbon emissions and 70% reduction in carbon monoxide emissions), and the team also knew the fuel and oil conservation would save the taxi drivers 220 dollars a year. That money saved would make a large social impact in the Philippines, which was the first market the team decided to target. Since, Envirofit International has brought a new product to the market, stoves to help prevent indoor air pollution. Through
Contributing to the worldview of nested, sustainable systems. Example: helping other companies apply industry best practices, generating more renewable energy than the organization needs and feeding it into the community grid, or helping to develop sustainable infrastructure (VanLeeuwen 17).
My Cooperative education was completed as an intern at Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA), in Wellington. I was focusing on tourism, specifically voluntourism, and the establishment of learning journeys, VSA’s form of voluntourism. During this internship, I was mentored by the CEO, Gill Greer, which allowed me to observe her passion for sustainable development. Gill believes that the success of sustainable development can be achieved through improvement of human rights, health, education, and empowerment of women. Gill was an inspirational mentor, with incredible wisdom and advice to offer. I have learnt so much from Gill, and this experience has only fuelled my own passion for sustainable development and the empowerment of women.