Climate Commitment Student Strategy Internship

Timeline

2024

Description

Affiliated programs: Green Devils Intern Program and Duke's Climate Commitment 

Summary

The purpose of this internship was to assess ways to engage all Duke students more with the Climate Commitment. Key efforts included peer outreach, coordinating student town halls, collaborating with student government, and serving as a liaison to the Climate Commitment Advisory Council, ensuring cohesive communication and engagement across campus.

Goals

1. Assess students’ knowledge and views on Duke’s Climate Commitment 

2. Deepen students’ awareness of Duke’s Climate Commitment, including actionable engagement pathways

3. Enhance the connectivity and collaboration across graduate and undergraduate student groups 

Experience and Learning Outcomes

This project was part of the year-long paid internship Green Devils program managed by the Office of Climate and Sustainability. Over the course of the project, the student lead organized a comprehensive list of climate-related student groups, drafted a survey for graduate students about their thoughts on the Climate Commitment, supported planning for and facilitate Town Halls, brainstormed how to incorporate sustainability into Duke Admissions, and supported OCS in various other events (such as sorting trash and recycling).

The student reported gaining skills in pioneering their own projects and breaking down visionary goals into bite-sized, actionable steps. "Because this internship’s activities were flexible, I was responsible for identifying valuable projects, which taught me how to critically look at the communities of which I am a part and identify areas for improvement. This is much more difficult than simply carrying out given tasks. Additionally, I learned how to collaborate with a variety of stakeholders, such as representatives from Duke Admissions, undergraduate students, and members of the Office of Climate and Sustainability. Balancing the needs and desires of these stakeholders challenging at times, but ultimately incredibly useful for future experiences," says Fiona Price.

Recommendations

Continue to build upon the network and community of climate and sustainability leaders on campus, emphasizing that while everyone's action plan is unique, there is a great opportunity for everyone to get involved and lead. 

Student Interns: Fiona Price

Intern Supervisor: Tavey Capps, Executive Director of Climate and Sustainability