As my summer internship with the Hoosic River Watershed Association comes to an end, I’ve taken time to reflect on my experience here. When I started here, I wanted to learn what it is like doing work in the environmental field and how what I have learned in my classes can be applied. Looking back, this was a great experience for that. I have a much deeper understanding of what work in the field is like, and it has given me a news perspective on everything that I have learned at Brandeis. My internship went beyond what I would expect to be doing in a job like this, and I’m very grateful that it did.
This job has helped me to narrow down what I want to do in this field. When I started, I didn’t know where I wanted to go in the environmental field, but I know now how much I enjoy field work and testing, and that is where I would like to go in my future. I know that wherever I may end up, this experience will help me.
This summer has helped me to learn what work I enjoy as well as what work is important. My favorite part has been the field work, but I have also learned the importance of community-building. Working with the local community is important for any organization, but especially for environmental organizations. The priority of groups like ours is to help the people that live in our area, and having public participation and educational programs is essential for that. I’m grateful for HooRWA for giving me a greater understanding of this. Working here has impacted my view of environmental work greatly.
Though my time with HooRWA is arriving at its end, I hope that there will be many more interns after me that get this great opportunity. If I were to give them advice, I would tell them to keep an open mind and step into the parts of the field that they aren’t familiar with. Having this wide a view of the field is essential for anyone going into environmentalism.
It’s harder for me to say what advice I’d give to someone going into the field, as I still have much to learn about that as well. I think I would advise one to take new opportunities and risks, as that’s the only way we can improve both ourselves and the place we’re trying to protect.
There are a lot of things that I’m proud of this summer, but if I had to choose the one I’m most proud of, I think I would choose the map I made of our riverside trail. Not only did it take a lot of work and learning to make, but the maps will be going up by the trail next week!
I want to thank HooRWA for giving me this opportunity. This has been a wonderful summer and I look forward to applying what I’ve learned further in the future.
— Lucas Forman