Summer Internship Program

Application packets are due by February 6, 2023.
The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) Summer Student Internship Program provides undergraduate students opportunities to help address issues impacting coastal communities by combining social and environmental conservation science. Through this program, IISG’s interns will gain greater understanding of and skills related to a variety of practices that can help lead to Lake Michigan coastal communities making more informed decisions about resource management and everyday activities. These paid internships may include research, communications, and/or outreach activities. Applicants may have the opportunity to participate in activities (e.g., attending a professional conference) outside of their specific internship duties.
As part of this program, IISG offers required professional development trainings over the course of their employment, each intern will participate in professional development opportunities that will collectively require approximately eight hours or an average of one hour per week; one or more of the opportunities may take more than one hour, so in some weeks, no opportunities will be offered.
Intern Positions
Click on the title for an expanded view of the job description, qualifications and location of position. Please note, for aquatic invasive species and the stormwater positions, IISG will be hiring up to two interns each for those topics. All other position will be one intern only.
Aquatic Invasive Species
Mentor/Supervisor Name: Greg Hitzroth and Katie O’Reilly
Description: Intern(s) will work with the IISG AIS Team to understand the role of stakeholder behavior in transporting aquatic invasive species in Illinois and Indiana waters. Primary responsibilities will include traveling to boat launches to observe boater behavior (e.g., boat washing, reading signage), conducting surveys, and posting AIS-related content on social media, among other tasks.
The successful applicant will be an employee of University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
Qualifications: Applicants should have interest in biology, aquatic ecology, natural resources management, and developing outreach programs for diverse stakeholder groups. Experience in outreach is not necessary.
Location: In-person, based at the Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe, IL)
Great Lakes Education
Mentor/Supervisor Name: Kristin TePas and Janice Milanovich
Description: This internship will support Great Lakes educational programming efforts for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. The intern will assist with developing educational support materials for teaching about water quality.
Projects may include:
- Researching and identifying Great Lakes observable water quality events (phenomena) that teachers can use to build learning experiences for students.
- Updating existing environmental education lessons to meet accessibility standards.
- Collaborating to develop short form videos about water quality parameters.
- Assisting with other educational programming such as educator workshops, as time and interest allow.
Opportunities for professional development will be offered as available.
The successful applicant will be an employee of University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
This internship is up to 10 weeks with a potential start date no later than June 1. The exact employment dates will be determined with the successful intern.
Qualifications:
- Experience with or interest in environmental education
- Interest in conveying scientific concepts to educator and student audiences
- Ability to work independently and remotely
- Strong communication and organizational skills
- Experience with or interest in creating and editing short form educational videos
Location: The work location will be determined during the interview process. The successful candidate can work remotely or hybrid. There is office space available on campus at Purdue and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if the intern is in either of these areas.
Pollution Prevention
Mentor/Supervisor Name: Sarah Zack
Description: The successful intern will be responsible for development of extension activities and outreach materials related to pollution prevention in aquatic ecosystems. Specifically, activities will likely focus on three areas: proper medicine disposal, marine debris prevention, and natural lawn care. The intern will work closely with specialist Zack to evaluate outreach needs of Great Lakes communities and will then work with Sea Grant staff and partner organizations to collaboratively develop and/or edit outreach and extension materials (e.g., web pages, guidebooks, fact sheets, brochures, videos) that meet those needs. The intern may assist the specialist with other pollution prevention programming as time and interest allow. The successful intern will gain valuable experience working towards shared pollution prevention goals in a collaborative environment.
The successful applicant will be an employee of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Qualifications: Candidates should have an interest in the Great Lakes, aquatic sciences, and public outreach, and a background in biology, natural resource science, social science, or a related field. Strong verbal and written communication skills, demonstrated ability to work independently and multitask, and a valid driver’s license are required. Working knowledge of Adobe Acrobat, Canva, Box, WordPress, Zoom, and Teams is preferred, but not required. Some overnight travel and irregular work hours may also be required.
Location: Position is expected to be fully remote, though shared office space is available in at the Illinois Extension office located in Woodstock (McHenry County). The work location will be determined during the interview process.
Stormwater Infrastructure
Mentor/Supervisor: Eliana Brown
Description: The student interns will support state-wide stormwater extension programming efforts for Illinois Extension and the Illinois – Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) College Program. Working with the Stormwater and Water Quality Specialist, the interns will read, interpret, and mine narrative municipal stormwater (MS4) reports for data that informs a stormwater program analyses.
Successful applicants will be employees of University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
Qualifications: Candidates should have interest in municipal stormwater management and green infrastructure. A background in environmental engineering, landscape architecture, natural resource sciences or a related field with strong organizational and communication skill is desired.
Location: remote
Sustainable Communities
Mentor/Supervisor Name: Kara Salazar
Description: The student intern will support sustainable communities extension programming efforts (https://ag.purdue.edu/extension/scep) for Purdue Extension and Illinois – Indiana Sea Grant (IISG). Working with Kara Salazar, Assistant Program Leader and Extension Specialist for Sustainable Communities, the intern will collaboratively develop extension education and training materials (fact sheets, excerpts of guide books, web pages, online modules, reports, database updates) related to public spaces, rain gardens, land use, and environmental planning topics. The intern will also interact with community groups and program partners through meetings, program delivery, and trainings in collaboration with extension specialists. Occasional travel with program teams will be required for program delivery. Opportunities for professional development will be offered and tailored to individual interests as available.
This internship will run for 12 weeks with a start date in May and an end date in August. Employment dates will be determined with the successful intern.
The successful applicant will be an employee of Purdue University at West Lafayette, Indiana.
Qualifications: Applicants should have interest in natural resources management, planning, community development, and developing and delivering education and outreach programs for diverse stakeholder groups. A background in natural resource sciences, social science, environmental planning or policy or a related field with strong verbal and written communication skills is desired.
Location: The successful applicant will work in person at an office space within the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907. IISG does not supply a housing stipend although assistance can be provided when an intern is looking for summer housing.
Virtual Reality Developer
Mentor/Supervisor Name: Ashley Belle & Megan Gunn
Description: The intern will assist in developing virtual reality education materials for Lake Michigan curriculums, with a focus on the Grand Calumet Area of Concern.
The intern will do the following:
- Utilize 360 camera technology to capture environmental videos & photos at pre-selected sites located in the Grand Calumet Area of Concern (near Hammond & Gary, Indiana)
- Develop an interactive virtual reality tour (website based) of the Grand Calumet AOC using 3DVista software
- Test virtual reality tour for user-friendliness
- Develop user guide to support virtual reality tour
- Upload the virtual reality tour to virtual reality headsets (i.e. Oculus Quest 2)
The successful applicant will be an employee of Purdue University at West Lafayette, Indiana.
Qualifications:
- Experience with virtual reality required.
- Experience with 360o cameras preferred.
- Familiarity with virtual reality headsets preferred.
- Ability to quickly independently learn 3DVista Software.
- Experience with 3DVista software preferred.
- Interest in environmental education is a plus.
- Familiarity with PC; Powerpoint, Word, and Excel.
- Reliable transportation to periodically travel to the Grand Calumet Area of Concern (near Hammond & Gary, Indiana) required. Reasonable travel reimbursement provided. If intern is located at Purdue University, transportation is provided but a valid driver’s license is required.
- Self-motivated, proactive, organized and ability to efficiently complete tasks with minimal supervision.
- Work will occur inside and outdoors. Intern may be exposed to a variety of environmental factors to include, but not limited to, hot or cold weather, exposure to noise and allergens, and uneven ground.
Location: Remote, office located at Purdue University, OR hybrid.
Workforce Development
Mentor/Supervisor Name: Angela Archer and Carolyn Foley
Description: Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) provides several opportunities for post-secondary students to gain job skills, including the IISG summer internship program, the IISG graduate student scholars program, and support through research grants. IISG also provides training opportunities for professionals in a variety of fields, including educators and aquaculturists. The Workforce Development Intern will support IISG’s efforts in improving their programming. The intern will participate in activities such as leading development of formal IISG Student Alumni groups by communicating with past program participants, reviewing literature, identifying a structure for the network (or networks), and putting the network(s) in place; reviewing gaps in the IISG Workforce Development portfolio; and exploring new partnerships, with an overall goal of enhancing the Workforce Development efforts of the program.
The successful applicant will be an employee of Purdue University at West Lafayette, Indiana.
Qualifications: Applicants should have strong organizational and time management skills, plus an ability to pay attention to detail. Any student interested in gaining hands-on experience building networks of people and/or enhancing training opportunities is encouraged to apply.
Location: Remote or in-person at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
All interns in the IISG program will be paid $15.00-$17.00 per hour and work up to 37.5 hours per week for a minimum of 8 weeks (June 1-July 27). Additional weeks may be available at the discretion of each intern’s mentor and are noted in the position description. Occasional work during evenings and/or weekends may be required. Each intern will be a student employee of Purdue University or the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
Application packets are due by February 6, 2023. Successful applications will be notified of their acceptance by April 1, 2023.
Eligibility
- Undergraduates currently enrolled in any 2 or 4 year accredited U.S. institution of higher learning.
- For Illinois positions, undergraduate must be a rising senior or junior. For Purdue positions, any undergraduate class is eligible including seniors graduating in May 2022.
- Graduate students are not eligible.
- Applicants should be U.S. citizens, permanent residents or have an active F-1 visa.
- Previous IISG interns who have participated in the Summer Student Internship program are not eligible.
Please note that each intern is responsible for the cost of housing plus transportation to and from their work place. Please see each project descriptions for information on whether the position is remote, in-person, or hybrid.
Application
Applicants should submit their materials to the “2023 IISG Summer Student Internship Program” opportunity, using the button below. All questions should be directed to Angela Archer, amcbride@purdue.edu, 765-496-3722.
- Cover letter, please tell us about yourself and how your experiences will benefit this internship, and how this opportunity will help you with your career goals. (1-2 pages);
- Curriculum vitae or resume detailing education and work experiences (2 pages maximum);
- Ranked preference of the internship position, and where or how you heard about the IISG Internship Program;
- Copy of unofficial transcript(s); and
- One letter of recommendation; which can be sent directly to amcbride@purdue.edu on your behalf or included in your application (1 page max).
APPLICATION SUBMISSION
Employment 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/our-values/.
Purdue University
Purdue University prohibits discrimination against any member of the University community on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, genetic information, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or status as a veteran.
University of Illinois
It is the policy of the University not to engage in discrimination or harassment against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, disability, national origin, citizenship status, ancestry, age, order of protection status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, arrest record status, unfavorable discharge from the military, or status as a protected veteran and to comply with all federal and state nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative action laws, orders, and regulations.