Elizabeth Rainier

Internship placement:   U.S. Department of Agriculture, Lemont Furnace, PA

Internship Title:   Earth Team Member

How did you find your internship?   Through networking.

What are your primary responsibilities/day-to-day activities?
As an Earth Team member, I find myself assisting in the day-to-day tasks that are consistent with conservation planning, farm billing programs, as well as some hands-on experience with survey and design. A specific emphasis has been placed on ArcGIS to accommodate my specific interest and educational goals.

What is the best part of your internship?
The people that I work with; they all have different types of personalities, and it is interesting to hear and learn there views on work ethics and thoughts about everyday life. It is also interesting to learn to deal with and work well when you are surrounded by a lot of dissimilar personalities.

What are the top two things you have learned?
Being able to understand and use my schooling at my internship helps me have a better understanding of how my education can be used in the real world; how things that people do in Pennsylvania effect people all over the world, even minor things such as cutting down a tree can affect the Gulf of Mexico. Waking up early and looking professional all day is hard and tiring; I have a new-found respect for my parents.

Would you recommend this internship to someone else?
Yes, it is a great learning experience.  The people are friendly and are very willing to help me with anything that is needed.  I've learned a lot about the environment and how to help preserve it. It is very rewarding to know that something that you did, a map you created or a letter you sent, might help save the environment.

A quote regarding your internship experience?
It is absolutely a privilege to intern at the United States Department of Agriculture, being able to get the professional experience of an internship is to my own personal advantage. If anyone ever has the opportunity to get an internship, they should take it.  You learn things that you could never learn in a classroom. It is really interesting to see how the information that I was tested on in class is really used in everyday life.