Community Engaged Internship for Undergraduate Students
Sea Grant’s Community Engaged Internship (CEI) aims to broaden participation in coastal, ocean, Great Lakes, and marine sciences by offering training and mentorship, through paid internships, to undergraduate students from under-resourced, underrepresented and/or indigenous and tribal populations. This program aims to broaden participation in coastal and marine profession by engaging and recruiting diverse undergraduate students in place-based research, extension, education, and/or communication that respects and integrates local ways of knowing.
CEI PARTICIPANT EXPECTATIONS:
The IISG Sea Grant intern will be part of a national cohort of students. Each intern is expected to participate in all aspects of the CEI program:
- On-the-ground learning experience, including completion of a project that extends the knowledge of community stakeholders to address a coastal, marine or Great Lakes issue of environmental, economic and/or social importance.
- Mentoring by Sea Grant and other professionals, Sea Grant funded researchers and Knauss Fellows.
- Virtual professional development sessions and training opportunities.
- Graduation Ceremony to celebrate accomplishments, network with peers and other professionals.
- Participation in pre/post evaluation.
For eligibility, students must be enrolled in an undergraduate degree at a 2- or 4-year college or university, at the time of application. IISG encourages applicants from groups that are historically underrepresented in the sciences, including African-American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic and Latino/a/x, female, first-generation college students, veterans, LGBTQ+, and students with disabilities. The program is also open to students who have experienced and worked to overcome educational or economic disadvantages, and/or who have personal or family circumstances that may complicate their career paths.
Shedd Aquarium, apply by April 19, 2024
Description: The CEI intern will work with the Conservation Action team at Shedd Aquarium to identify a priority community in Chicago and develop resources for preventing and mitigating plastic pollution to be used at outreach programs, education activities, beach cleanups and in digital communications. The intern will research current trends and policies that are driving change around single-use plastics and incorporate these into messages for use in tools to support local restaurants and community members in the Let’s Shedd Plastic program. This program focuses on reducing plastic use and encouraging sustainable practices. Additionally, the intern will support Shedd’s plastic reduction efforts at Action Days’ beach cleanups by incorporating educational elements that connect plastic pollution removal in Lake Michigan to efforts to prevent plastic pollution in general. This will involve assisting and leading community science projects with groups of volunteers and interpreting the data collected to share with Shedd’s wider audiences.
Qualifications:
- Familiarity with South and West sides of Chicago
- Strong oral and written communication skills
- Strong interest in working with a diverse audience to encourage and advance sustainable practices
- Experience and interest in science communication
- Ability to commute to Shedd Aquarium or off-site locations for programming
- Desire to work outside/comfort working in the outdoors in all weather conditions
- Multilingual skills desired
Location: The intern will work a hybrid work schedule and will need to travel to Shedd up to three times a week.
Salary: CEI-Shedd Aquarium intern will be paid $17.00 per hour and work 40 hours per week for up to 10 weeks, starting no later than June 3, 2024, and ending no earlier than August 9, 2024.
Application:
- Cover letter, please tell us about yourself and how you fit into the goals of the CEI program, and how this internship will help you with your career goals. Please include one or two ideas for how you would deliver messaging on the importance of plastic pollution prevention in a program with an audience of various levels of education on the subject.
- Curriculum vitae or resume detailing education and work experiences (2 pages maximum).
- Unofficial transcript(s) from universities and/or colleges.
- One letter of recommendation; which can be sent directly to amcbride@purdue.edu on your behalf or included in your application (1 page max). Letters from employees from Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant or Shedd Aquarium will not be accepted.
Value Statement
Just as the aquatic world encompasses a vast spectrum of diversity, Shedd Aquarium is committed to celebrating the individual differences that make us spectacular. We practice values of diversity, equity and inclusion comprehensively through Shedd culture, workforce, workplace, vendor selection, programs and experiences.
It will take all of us working together to build a world thriving with aquatic life, sustained by people who love, understand and protect it.
Chicago Wilderness Alliance, apply by April 19, 2024
Description: Since its founding in 1996, the Alliance has regularly held an event called the Congress. At the Congress, partners and other interested parties reaffirm their commitment to a shared Green Vision, network and build new professional contacts, and discuss the region’s most pressing environmental challenges. Congress 2024 will be held at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond, Indiana, on November 15. More than 600 people will be invited. Congress 2024 will spotlight the Calumet region’s approach to collaborative conservation. Planning and organizing this event will be a pivotal part of the internship.
Working with the Alliance coordinator, program assistant, and communications consultant, the intern will perform data entry, manage digital assets, create social media posts (both writing and graphic design), assist with meetings, and perform other business tasks. The intern might also support the Alliance’s Green Vision Initiatives by creating newsletter, website, or social media content.
During the CEI program, a series of four professional development trainings, hosted by National Sea Grant, will be offered with topics that may include crafting an application, building partnerships, exploring career pathways or building your brand. Opportunities to participate in other professional development modules and weekly coffee breaks, through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, are available to the CEI intern, as their schedule allows.
Qualifications:
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Professionalism in social media management
- Ability to assist with digital asset management
- Ability to work independently and remotely
- Strong organizational skills
- Multicultural competency welcomed
Location: Remote, with the opportunity for in-person meetings if in the Chicago area.
Salary: The intern will be paid $17.00 per hour for 37.5 hours per week for 8 weeks. Start and end dates are flexible depending on the student’s academic schedule; however, the position will start no later than June 3, 2024. Work schedule is generally Monday through Friday (7.5 hours per day), however flexible hours can be discussed.
The intern will be a student employee of Purdue University.
Application: Applicants should submit the following application materials. All questions should be directed to Angela Archer, amcbride@purdue.edu.
- Cover Letter (2 pages max): Please tell us about yourself, how you fit into the goals of the CEI program, and how this internship will help your career goals. Share what you think are the biggest barriers facing emerging professionals considering a career in conservation in the Chicago and Great Lakes region and how conservation organizations might reduce those barriers.
- Curriculum vitae or resume detailing education and work experiences (2 pages maximum).
- Unofficial transcript(s) from universities and/or colleges.
- One letter of recommendation; which can be sent directly to amcbride@purdue.edu on your behalf or included in your application (1 page max). Letters from employees from Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant or Shedd Aquarium will not be accepted.
Chicago Wilderness Alliance
The Chicago Wilderness Alliance values the diversity inherent in the ecological and human communities that it serves. To fulfill our mission, we work to be inclusive of all people regardless of age, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, family status, spirituality, education, geographic location, social and economic class, and physical and mental ability. Learn more at: https://www.chicagowilderness.org/page/EquityAndCulture.
National Park Service, opening soon
Applicants should submit the application materials indicated in each position, using the link below. All questions should be directed to Angela Archer, amcbride@purdue.edu. Please note – each CEI opportunity has its own application process. After creating an account at eSeagrant, please select Internships to open the group, revealing open position. You may apply to one or all.
APPLICATION SUBMISSION
VALUE STATEMENTS:
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
The people of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant value diversity, equity, and inclusion in both our organization and the communities we serve. Therefore, we strive to make access to research, outreach, education, and employment opportunities available to everyone, regardless of race, color, religion, place of origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, disability, or veteran status. The full IISG values statement can be found at https://iiseagrant.org/about/about-us