Inter-institutional Sustainability Collaboration Coordinator Internship

Southeastern Student Sustainability Conference

Timeline

2024

This internship ran from August 2024 to May 2025.

Description

Affiliated programs: Green Devils Intern Program

Summary

The purpose of this new internship was to connect and build community across students engaged in climate and sustainability efforts at universities around the region. The Triangle Student Sustainability gathering was hosted in the fall and brought together students from North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central University, and Duke University. In April 2024, the team hosted the Southeastern Student Sustainability Conference which brought together nearly 250 participants from 23 schools across the Southeast for a weekend of shared learning, community building, and visioning for the future.

Goals

1) Plan and coordinate the Triangle Student Sustainability gathering in Fall 2024 and Southeastern Student Sustainability Conference in Spring 2025.

2) Advance sustainability collaboration across higher education institutions in the southeast US.

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 leads strengthened a wide range of skills from strategic planning, communication, organization, volunteer coordination, community building, facilitation skills, and much more. The students also reported takeaways such as "learning how to think on both small and large scales when planning events" and "practicing pivoting and adapting when unforeseen challenges arise".

Recommendations

The students reported deep satisfaction and joy from the process of coordinating community building opportunities. They also reflected on the rich knowledge exchange that was made possible at both of these events, and how valuable that was for attendees and the work being led across institutions. Continuing to facilitate connectivity and networks like this was a big recommendation from the planning team.

Student Interns: Kaitlyn Williams and Michelle Ling

Intern Supervisor: Sophia Masciarelli, Sustainability Engagement Coordinator