Internship Location: Madison WI
Organization Type: State Government
Policy Areas: Natural resources
This summer I worked at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which manages the state’s fish, wildlife, forests, parks, air and water resources while promoting a healthy, sustainable environment and a full range of outdoor opportunities. This job runs through the State of Wisconsin Student Diversity Internship Program (SWSDIP), which hires students across the state to intern at a variety of state government agencies. My role as air management specialist intern was mostly supervised by the air permitting team, though I was able to shadow many other employees holding different positions within the air management program. During these shadowing periods, I would travel around the state for full compliance evaluations of major emission source facilities, go on weekly trips to local air monitoring sites, and visit the Milwaukee air quality lab. While spending the majority of my time in the Madison office, I was able to assist in writing air emission permits/exemptions, update federal emissions technology records, and assist with data input for other full time staff. This structure allowed me to get a sense of different job positions, and decide if it would be an enjoyable future career path. I would most definitely recommend this internship to future students because of its flexibility, opportunity for hands-on experience, and supportive work environment.