With 18 college and high school interns working within seven offices, Montgomery Parks has had its biggest year yet for its summer internship program. And the department is expected to expand the program in 2023.
Along with college students, the program also included high school students from Montgomery County Public School’s (MCPS) Summer RISE program, which works with local businesses, government agencies, higher education institutions, and nonprofit organizations for juniors and seniors to engage in career-based, hands-on learning opportunities. Students receive a stipend at the end of the four-week program.
“We are actively building pathways for interns to apply for career opportunities within Montgomery Parks,” says Darlene Douglas, Internship Program Coordinator.
These are spotlights of just a few of the program’s participants. AJ is a Summer RISE student who worked in our Program Access office. He created digital storyboards for individuals with disabilities so they can become familiar with Montgomery Parks’ nature centers before their visits. AJ loved applying photography skills he learned in school to his work at Montgomery Parks.
Amaya, also with Summer RISE, worked alongside staff on outreach projects in the Human Resources office. She was most proud in developing a flyer in Spanish, providing Spanish-speaking county residents information regarding Montgomery Parks career information.
Elaine Chang, Director, Montgomery County Public Schools Partnerships Unit says, “The number of Montgomery Parks opportunities have expanded over the years, and the MCPS Partnerships Unit looks forward to continuing this relationship to help our high school students inform their decision making about life after high school.”
The internship program also drew university students.
Emily Cruz and Kyle Mathis, undergraduate students from Montgomery College and the University of Maryland, interned with the marketing team. Together, they have worked on social media content and website updates, including this article.
Sanghyuk Lee is an undergraduate student from University of Maryland who interned with Brookside Gardens. Sanghyuk was eager and excited to learn and work with different native plants. However, a retaining wall project to limit erosion on stream banks at the gardens quickly became the favorite part of his summer internship.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, graduate student Ethan Crookshank worked with the biomonitoring group in the Natural Resources office. He found fieldwork challenging as it was quite different from what he normally does when working with hydrology data in his studies.
This summer may be over, but college students can apply for 2023 summer internships in December. Montgomery Parks is excited to see more interested interns apply next summer, but, until then, thank you to all the summer 2022 interns!
For more information regarding the internship program, please contact Darlene.Douglas@montgomeryparks.org.