This past summer, interns had the opportunity to work with faculty and staff on site-specific projects via the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station.
Students from 96 schools in 29 states across the U.S. applied for the chance to intern; 76 females and 40 males made up the total 116 students lucky enough to have this opportunity.
Director of Environmental Education & Citizen Science, Natalie Marioni said, “College students participating in NGRREC’s summer Intern Program experience the full breadth of conducting scientific research alongside an experienced scientist, often being involved in the development of the research question and design, in addition to conducting the research, analyzing the results, and presenting those results to an audience of their peers and science professionals.”
Marioni continued, “Presenting their work at a professional Intern Symposium is often noted by interns as being one of the most valuable experiences of the program, as it requires students to synthesize the work they conducted over the summer and learn how to prepare a presentation for a broad audience. This is a valuable and necessary skill regardless of a student’s future career path.”
The Monticello College Foundation, which is dedicated to furthering the education of women, funded the projects of two lucky candidates: Traci Paslay and Summer Wolfe.
If anyone is interested in applying, Marioni has this to say: “By mid-December, interested students will be able to access the application link through NGRREC’s Intern Program website (http://www.ngrrec.org/Internship/), where they will upload a resume, cover letter, transcripts, and a one-paragraph biography. Students will also be able to view brief summaries of the available projects for the coming summer, which they will use to indicate the types of projects in which they’re most interested. On this website, students can also download the Symposium Proceedings to see projects from the last few years. All students, especially community college students, are encouraged to apply – no prior research experience necessary. Anyone with questions about the program can contact me directly at ngrrecintern@lc.edu.”
HANNAH AUSTON
hauston@lc.edu
