Emily Chase, a recent graduate from Skidmore College in Upstate New York, joined Gunpowder Riverkeeper as our intern last summer. She was fortunate to partake in a two-month internship with Gunpowder Riverkeeper thanks to funding provided by Skidmore’s Summer Experience Fund. While she is completing her sustainability capstone project at Skidmore, she is providing remote support for our organization by managing our social media and outreach. In commemoration of her returning to Gunpowder Riverkeeper, here are Emily’s reflections on her past summer in Monkton.
I can only speak highly of my experience with Gunpowder Riverkeeper in Maryland. From my two months, I received college credit for my work and gained numerous practical skills that I can apply to the last year of my undergraduate degree and postgraduate life.
When I arrived in Monkton for the summer, I moved into a room at the Monkton Hotel, a historic building built in 1858 that lies on the renowned route of the Baltimore-York rail line. The Hotel and its gardens were beautiful, and I was only a few steps away from the Torrey C. Brown Trail and Gunpowder River.
Through my internship, I came to see that Gunpowder Riverkeeper conducts invaluable work in the areas of outreach, advocacy, education, monitoring, and litigation. I found that my personal morals and values aligned with those of the organization; Riverkeeper works to strengthen ties within the communities that benefit from the vital water resources in the nearby watersheds by engaging in outreach activities, which have an inherent stewardship message. In addition to positive outreach and education, Gunpowder Riverkeeper engages with its community through extensive advocacy work, whether that be in the form of compliance or litigation work as a last resort. They serve not only the voice of the watershed’s communities, but also as the voice of the river.
During my work at Gunpowder Riverkeeper, I conducted bi-weekly water quality monitoring and community outreach efforts for the organization. I also gained experience in donor management software, internal and external communication development, and the process of applying for monetary grants. These array of responsibilities within my intern role strengthened my written and oral communication, time-management, and organizational skills. Even more, I was exposed to both the gratifying and challenging elements of the day-to-day operations at an environmental non-profit.
There were also many opportunities for me to network with both the membership of Gunpowder Riverkeeper and other local stakeholders throughout my internship. These meetings allowed me to share the successes and challenges of my internship work and granted me the chance to build connections and practice my interpersonal skills. Ultimately, the networking opportunities at Gunpowder Riverkeeper were highly useful for me in my reckoning of my future career decisions.
Outside the office and my fieldwork, I spent my time mesmerized by the beauty of northern Maryland. Having grown up in the Midwest surrounded by spanning lakes, it was incredible to spend my summer exploring the twists and turns of the Gunpowder River. I found new nature to admire on the Torrey C. Brown Trail daily and cherished the sweet sounds of the river flow and bird songs. I was also lucky that Theaux Le Gardeur, the Executive Director of Gunpowder Riverkeeper, took me out on the river and Loch Raven reservoir to learn how to fly fish – an infamous pastime in the Baltimore County area.
I’m sure it’s apparent that I’m a huge proponent of Gunpowder Riverkeeper’s work. I feel so incredibly grateful to have had the chance to work in such an engaging role within the field of my career interest. I gained a considerable amount of practical, theoretical, and logistical skills as the non-profit’s summer intern. I now feel more confident in approaching the fields of communications, advocacy, grant writing, and program management – all of which I’m positive I will need to tap into after my graduation from Skidmore.
Given my extraordinary summer experience in Maryland, I’m excited to keep up with Gunpowder Riverkeeper, its membership, board members and interns. I saw how the organization is on the cusp of expanding its team and advancing its respectable work into additional nearby watersheds. I’m eager to see how Gunpowder Riverkeeper can keep evolving as an organization, as there is no shortage of tremendous work that can be achieved when a group of environmentalists are passionate about the health of their backyard and local community.