By Grace Haas
This summer, I had the opportunity to work as a Sustainability Project Coordinator at Five Rivers MetroParks. What surprised me the most was that my position did not have a set plan for me to follow. My supervisor at the MetroParks told me and a peer UD Hanley Sustainability Institute Summer Fellow that this fellowship was not only to provide helping hands to the agency, but also to learn, grow and gain experience. Often, this involved shadowing various positions for a day and absorbing all the expertise that surrounded me.
I primarily worked with the marketing team and the conservation team. I was fascinated by how these works juxtaposed with each other, enabling me to maximize my experience and take full advantage of learning opportunities. One day, I might be working in marketing, honing my public speaking skills while being interviewed by the Dayton Daily News. The next, I would be out in the field, learning about GIS mapping and conducting grassland assessments.
While there were both pros and cons to this type of work, I appreciated the opportunity to contribute to many different projects, even if I did not always see them through from start to finish. For example, I created a sustainability PowerPoint for new MetroParks hires. The variety of tasks allowed me to dip my toes into multiple areas, gain a broad range of skills and build adaptability rather than focusing on just one specialty.
The true value of this fellowship lay in the personal growth and development I experienced. As the fellowship was through UD's Hanley Sustainability Institute, I had supervisors at UD and Five Rivers MetroParks. This allowed me to have multiple guiding mentors this summer. I felt supported as they did an excellent job of helping me find opportunities that suited my interests and encouraged me to explore potential career paths.
This summer gave me the chance to explore experiences I never would have imagined experiencing and being interested in. One day, while shadowing the marketing team, I got to be behind the scenes at a TV news station and watch the anchors at work, both on and off camera. This sparked an unexpected interest in me to potentially incorporate TV segments into my future work, whether that be volunteering to spread the word about projects I am working on through a single segment or exploring potential anchoring opportunities.
Along with this, I loved participating in the Friday sessions with the entire group of HSI Summer Student Fellows. It was exciting to have built-in activities each week, many of which were new experiences for me. I expanded my views on sustainability through several field trips, including a visit to Sister Trillium in Yellow Springs — a craft store filled with gently used supplies — as well as a collaboration and tour with Sinclair students to learn about energy and explore specific energy projects in the city of Dayton. Overall, these Friday sessions, shared with a united team of fellows, greatly added to my summer fellowship experience!