Caroline Pierce '10 has an internship this summer that is perfect in many respects. She is working as an intern for the Clean Air Council, a non-profit environmental group in Philadelphia. "I'm just really happy to be working on a subject I find interesting," she says, "learning tons about environmental issues as well as how environmental nonprofits work, and doing work that will have an impact in the future."
While the Clean Air Council focuses on many different environmental questions, Pierce's internship concentrates on increasing awareness about climate change and global warming, and trying to rally support for legislation on the issue. She conducts research for reports, writes press releases, and contacts local governments to support climate legislation, as well as lobbying politicians.
For Pierce, this internship is especially appealing because it allows her to work toward change on an issue she feels strongly about. "I've always been interested in environmental issues," she explains, and says she has become even more concerned as global warming becomes an ever more obvious issue. Since environmental science is one of her interests, she wanted to investigate further and see what a career in the field would involve.
Work experience is increasingly important to college students, but many internships are unpaid, leaving students to fund their own housing and living expenses. Thanks to alumni and parent donations, however, Hamilton awarded over 20 stipends this summer to support interns who are working in unpaid internships. Pierce received a grant from the Joseph F. Anderson '44 Internship Fund, which provides stipends to support full-time internships for students wishing to expand their educational horizons in preparation for potential careers after graduation. "I knew that it would be a great learning opportunity that I would not have been able to experience without a grant," she says.
This is Pierce's first internship, but she plans to go abroad to Tanzania to study with a program that focuses on coastal ecology and environmental conservation. She says she is considering a career in advocacy work and hopes to stay involved with environmental issues, but she has "no concrete thoughts" on the future yet.
The toughest part of her job, Pierce says, has been to communicate and relate to legislators and interest groups who are uninterested in environmental issues. To find ways to convince representatives to support environmental legislation, she analyzes their previous voting patterns and studies which issues concern them the most and whom they tend to vote with. "Understanding why representatives support some legislation and not others is complex but incredibly interesting," says Pierce. By analyzing the motivations behind votes, she is able to draft strategies make representatives more likely to vote for environmental legislation in the future.
-- by Laura Bramley
While the Clean Air Council focuses on many different environmental questions, Pierce's internship concentrates on increasing awareness about climate change and global warming, and trying to rally support for legislation on the issue. She conducts research for reports, writes press releases, and contacts local governments to support climate legislation, as well as lobbying politicians.
For Pierce, this internship is especially appealing because it allows her to work toward change on an issue she feels strongly about. "I've always been interested in environmental issues," she explains, and says she has become even more concerned as global warming becomes an ever more obvious issue. Since environmental science is one of her interests, she wanted to investigate further and see what a career in the field would involve.
Work experience is increasingly important to college students, but many internships are unpaid, leaving students to fund their own housing and living expenses. Thanks to alumni and parent donations, however, Hamilton awarded over 20 stipends this summer to support interns who are working in unpaid internships. Pierce received a grant from the Joseph F. Anderson '44 Internship Fund, which provides stipends to support full-time internships for students wishing to expand their educational horizons in preparation for potential careers after graduation. "I knew that it would be a great learning opportunity that I would not have been able to experience without a grant," she says.
This is Pierce's first internship, but she plans to go abroad to Tanzania to study with a program that focuses on coastal ecology and environmental conservation. She says she is considering a career in advocacy work and hopes to stay involved with environmental issues, but she has "no concrete thoughts" on the future yet.
The toughest part of her job, Pierce says, has been to communicate and relate to legislators and interest groups who are uninterested in environmental issues. To find ways to convince representatives to support environmental legislation, she analyzes their previous voting patterns and studies which issues concern them the most and whom they tend to vote with. "Understanding why representatives support some legislation and not others is complex but incredibly interesting," says Pierce. By analyzing the motivations behind votes, she is able to draft strategies make representatives more likely to vote for environmental legislation in the future.
-- by Laura Bramley
