Rising Senior, Adam Horwitz (History major) completed an internship during the Spring 2023 semester with the MA Department of Environmental Protection. Read on to learn about his experience!
If you’re interested in doing your own internship but don’t know where to start, make an appointment with your Career Advisor by going to Handshake.
What was your internship? As an intern with the Drinking Water Program at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, I volunteered remotely 24 hours per week producing outreach materials for Transient Non-Community (TNC) public water systems (PWS) .
Why were you initially interested in this internship? After working a summer job at the Nahant Beach Reservation for the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) I wanted to build on that experience and take steps toward potentially pursuing a future career in state government.
How did you find your internship? I heard that a neighbor had volunteered for the drinking water program, so I emailed the intern coordinator and applied.
What did you do as part of your internship? First I had to read up on the Drinking Water Program and familiarize myself with information about TNCs. My assignments were to write an e-newsletter article regarding customer outreach, design a poster, create logos, and produce social media messages about TNC PWS safety precautions. Then I presented my materials to the program director and the entire Boston drinking water staff in a narrated PowerPoint. That presentation was recorded and will be used in future trainings and public education forums.
Has this internship helped you work towards your future career goals? If so, how? Through this internship, I’ve added online design via Canva to my general skillset. Along with improved communication, research, and writing skills, I feel I have a lot more to offer employers specifically looking to fill such roles.
What was your biggest lesson/takeaway from the internship? The biggest lesson for me from this internship was how to produce multiple professional deliverables under deadline. It was also very useful to learn how to convey the same general message in varied ways through different platforms, ranging from traditional printable poster to contemporary social media. While the message about the safety of TNC drinking water was essentially the same, using different writing formats and terminology helped me refine my multimodal writing skills.
What advice would you give to someone interested in a similar internship opportunity? Be prepared to apply what you research into how you write. Attend as many staff meetings as you can, even if via zoom, to get to know your coworkers and experience being part of a team.
Want to share your experiences during an internship? Email Kevin (kdeeb@rwu.edu) in the CCPD to learn more about sharing with us!
