I love the mountains. They are some of the most untamed and untouched pieces of land left on the face of the Earth, and I’ve come to appreciate them more and more as I’ve lived in Chicago where you can see flat, developed land to the horizon. People who live in mountain communities are extremely reliant on the ecosystems that exist above them, yet these ecosystems are some of the most sensitive known to man. The Mountain Institute is a non-profit organization that works to “develop policies, investments, and participatory approaches to enable mountain people, and the billions affected downstream, to understand, harness, and manage the interrelated and complex issues confronting the world’s mountains in the 21st century.” Their Executive Office is located in Washington, DC, while their Corporate Business Office is in Morgantown, WV. Additionally, they have program offices across Asia, North America, and South America.
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administrative,
botany,
conservation,
ecology,
education,
environmental,
farming,
gardening,
green,
horticulture,
international,
Internships,
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outdoors,
paid,
unpaid,
Washington DC,
West Virginia
One of my least favorite things about the “real world” is that summer doesn’t automatically mean vacation. Unless you’ve gone into teaching, you’re expected to keep showing up for work every day like it’s the middle of February—even if it’s totally beautiful out. The good thing is that “real world” summer usually lasts from May through early October (at least here in Chicago). Even though you have to keep going to work, your summer isn’t regimented by school’s start and end dates. This means that interning gives you the worst of both worlds. Anyway, we all know that summer is really all about vacation (not internships), and for many that means hitting up a resort like The Balsams in Dixville Notch, NH. In the summer you can play golf or tennis, go kayaking or mountain biking, take a hike, or just relax. In the winter there’s skiing, sleigh rides, snowshoeing, snow mobile races, and I’m sure fireplaces to warm up near. It’s an old school New England inn with modern luxuries and fine dining. I’ve never been there, but I know the style—and I like it.
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communications,
food,
hospitality management,
Internships,
New Hampshire,
outdoors,
paid,
public relations,
social media,
sports,
travel
I don’t know about where you are, but here in Chicago it’s pretty clear that spring is on its way. We’re going to break 50 degrees this week, and the geese are already back and looking for places to nest. I may be in a huge city, but I’m not completely out of touch with nature. However, I’ve always wanted to spend more time closer to nature. The Institute for Environmental Awareness is a Massachusetts based organization that offers that kind of experience. Their mission is “to promote and support programs and services that encourage living and learning in harmony with the Earth and all Life,” and they do this through a number of earth-based, outdoor education programs. You may have noticed that I couldn’t find a suitable logo for them. That’s because their website looks like it’s from the mid 90s, and I wasn’t going to subject you to yellow text with a black drop shadow over a photo of a tree. An ugly website may be a bad indicator for a marketing firm or a web startup, but not for a nature based organization.
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conservation,
education,
environmental,
Internships,
manual labor,
Massachusetts,
non-profit,
outdoors,
program development,
unpaid
I don’t know if you’ve ever spent anytime on the Appalachian Trail, but if you haven’t, you should. The trail stretches from Georgia to Maine, while the range of mountains touches as far south as Alabama and as far north as Newfoundland. It’s 1,500 miles of natural beauty that is prime territory for naturalists and adventurers. Back in 1876 there was a club called the Appalachian Mountain Club started in Boston for people who enjoyed the range. Now the club consists of more than 12 chapters and 100,000 members—it’s the “nation’s oldest outdoor recreation and conservation organization.” They’re still based in Boston, and they’ve developed into a non-profit that promotes “the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the mountains, forests, waters, and trails of the Appalachian region.”
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conservation,
design,
development,
editorial,
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Massachusetts,
member services,
New Hampshire,
New Jersey,
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outdoors,
program development,
publishing,
research,
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unpaid,
web development
Much to my girlfriend’s chagrin, I love watching fishing shows. I’d rather be out on the water, but when I’m trapped on the 30th floor in the middle of downtown Chicago and it’s -15 outside, there aren’t many other options. Unfortunately, ESPN has cut back on their fishing programming, and that doesn’t leave me with any other options on my cable package. If only we got Sportsman Channel, then I’d be much happier. They are “the only television network providing 100 percent hunting, shooting and fishing programming.” Unlike some other outdoor focused networks, they’re staying true to what they are instead of watering down their programming in hopes of better ratings. I haven’t had a chance to watch any of their programming, but I’m sure I’d like it. Sportsman Channel is based in New Berlin, WI, and they also have locations in New York, Denver, and Atlanta.
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advertising,
Colorado,
Georgia,
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New York,
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television,
Wisconsin
After my Freshman year of college, I decided that I wanted a summer job that would allow me to work outside. I ended up doing maintenance at a fish and game club. It was like a great experience—even if I only worked 20 hours per week. If you want to work outside and are looking for something a little more intense than 20 hours per week, then you need to check out the California Conservation Corps. It’s a government run program that “matches up California’s young people and its natural resources.” Every year the CCC hires 3,300 corpsmembers and pays them minimum wage to take on projects like working on backcountry trails, aiding salmon restoration, promoting watershed stewardship, and providing emergency response services. The CCC has been around since 1976, and since then they’ve employed more than 100,000 young men and women with 98% saying that they “would recommend the CCC to a family member or friend.”
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California,
conservation,
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government,
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paid
At some point during my Junior year in college (by the way I’m back at Cornell for the weekend), I got the bright idea that I could wear slippers as shoes. These weren’t flimsy slippers, these were sturdy leather ones with shearling lining. They were made by Orvis (where I interned and had an awesome 50% employee discount), and they were great. I loved sitting in class knowing that my feet were more comfortable than everybody else’s. Then I came back from Thanksgiving break. I was admiring the Christmas lights that my roommates had adorned our otherwise aesthetically unpleasing house with, and I slipped. See, my slippers had flat rubber soles. My feet came out from under me as I fell down a muddy slope. My right hand came down hard on the sidewalk, and I had a broken wrist. I gave up wearing slippers for a while, but when my Mom bought me a pair of UGG slippers with proper soles, I reverted. Now UGG slippers are my go to shoes during the winter, and I’m a huge fan of Deckers Outdoor Corporation. They’re the company behind UGG, Simple, Teva (is it Tee-va or Tevv-a?), Tsubo, and Deckers, and they’re headquartered in Goleta, CA with a location in Flagstaff, AZ as well.
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affiliate marketing,
analyst,
analytics,
apparel,
Arizona,
California,
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e-commerce,
Internships,
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seo,
shoes,
unpaid,
web development
Having grown up in Connecticut and now living in Illinois, I’ve lived in areas that don’t have too many National Parks. Luckily, I’ve had the chance to see Yellowstone and Grand Teton. They are unbelievable. Our National Parks here in the US are one of the best things that the government has done – they’re a big part of what makes this country so special. Unfortunately, the same government that gave us those parks doesn’t always seem to have their best interest in mind. That’s why National Parks Conservation Association exists. They are a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC that is focused on “working on key initiatives to restore America’s national parks by the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016.” If you’ve never visited a National Park, you should. You can use this locator provided by the National Park Service to find the park closest to you.
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conservation,
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Internships,
Montana,
non-profit,
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paid,
unpaid,
Washington DC
Happy Groundhog Day! Unfortunately, it looks like we’re headed for 6 more weeks of winter according to Punxsutawney Phil. That really aggravates me, so I think that I’m done trusting the rodent for my weather prediction. Last year we recommended working for the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club on One Day One Job, but this year we want to lead you towards a career where you’ll actually be able to predict the weather. That’s why we want you to take a look at internships with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. NOAA is a government agency “that enriches life through science,” which makes them almost the exact opposite of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. NOAA’s responsibilities range from “daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce.” In fact, “NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product.”
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holiday,
meteorology,
nationwide,
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paid,
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science,
unpaid
Sometimes I can be a dunderhead. When I am behind the wheel of a car, I can get irrationally angry at having to share the road with pedestrians and bikers. And when I’m walking or riding a bike, I can get irrationally angry at having to share the road with cars. I can’t be right on both accounts, so the problem is obviously with me (or maybe with the government for not setting up a better transportation system). When it comes down to it, though, it’s pretty obvious that bikers and pedestrians are second-class citizens to drivers. Cars dominate the roads, and the burden of responsibility falls on those who are biking or walking to stay alert and avoid getting hit by a couple thousand bounds of fast-moving metal. The Thunderhead Alliance for Biking and Walking is a Washington, DC based non-profit advocacy organization that stands up for the rights of bikers and walkers by “strengthening and supporting bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations” across the country. They’re a meta-non-profit. organization – an organization for organizations.
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advocacy,
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editing,
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paid,
public relations,
social media,
sports,
Washington DC,
writing
Although I got to work at a private fishing club during one summer in college and spent two summers interning at Orvis, I still wish that I could have done something like interning with Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks. Being a lover of the outdoors, I can’t imagine many things better than spending a summer in Big Sky Country. In case you’re not familiar with what Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is, they’re Montana’s state agency charged with managing conservation of many of the state’s natural resources. Obviously, much of what they do is centered around managing fishing and hunting regulations, but they also have a huge responsibility of managing all of state parks (and there’s a whole lot to manage in a state like Montana).
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agriculture,
animals,
botany,
conservation,
education,
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Montana,
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paid,
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web development,
zoology
Maybe it’s just me, but I swear that whenever I’m writing about an internship that has seasonal ties, I’m writing about it in the wrong season. That’s not the case today. Although Chicago is pretty flat, I don’t think we’ve seen a day above freezing in months. I’d imagine the snow at the ski resorts across the country has to be in great shape this year. I guess with these internships, you’ll be applying when the time is right, but if you land the internship for the summer or fall, it won’t be ski season anymore. That’s ok, if you can’t be skiiing, you might as well be thinking about it while interning at Skiing Magazine. I think that it’s pretty obvious what Skiing Magazine is all about, although I’d be interested to know how it differs from SKI Magazine which is put out by the same publisher, Bonnier Corporation.
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Colorado,
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magazines,
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sports,
writing
Not only is it Friday, but it’s also a Snow Day here in Chicago! Judging from the map on The Weather Channel, there’s a good chance that you’re enjoying a Snow Day too. My favorite thing to do when school was cancelled was to go sledding, and I haven’t outgrown it yet. If downtown Chicago had a single decent hill, I’d be there as soon as I finish writing this. Of course, I’d have to stop and buy a sled first. In college it’s easy – you just “borrow” a tray from the dining hall, and that’s your sled for the winter, but when you’re an adult you need to take things a little more seriously. That’s why Hammerhead Sleds exists. They make sleds for big kids. Actually, that’s an understatement. They make the most bad ass sleds that I have ever seen. These sleds aren’t cheap, though. They run $349, but they sure look worth it.
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engineering,
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marketing,
outdoors,
product development,
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Vermont
For me the wilderness is central to life itself – I can’t be happy without time spent outdoors. That doesn’t mean that I’m not enjoying life in downtown Chicago, but I plan on spending lots of time in the woods and rivers of Wisconsin and Michigan once Spring starts to show its face. My philosophy is shared by the people at The Wilderness Society. Their About page says that “It is our calling and our passion to protect America’s wilderness, not as a relic of our nation’s past, but as a thriving ecological community that is central to life itself.” I couldn’t agree more. They’re a non-profit organization that provides “scientific, economic, legal and policy guidance to land managers, communities, local conservation groups and state and federal decision-makers” to “ensure the best management of our lands – national forests, parks and refuges, as well as public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.” I’ve seen one of my favorite places in the world (a Northern Michigan tract of wilderness and quality fishing areas) put at risk by poor land management policies that would have allowed natural gas drilling in an extremely sensitive area, so I know how firsthand how vital The Wilderness Society’s work is.
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advocacy,
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Internships,
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Washington DC
Well, if there’s anyone who’s qualified to write about internships at Orvis, it has to be me. I spent the summers after my sophomore and junior years as an intern in the Human Resources Department. Why did I pick Orvis? Because I am a life long fly fisherman and I love their products. I found the internship listed on their website, and knew that I had to have it. As an Industrial and Labor Relations major, I couldn’t think of a better fit than a HR internship with the company that built my favorite fly rod.
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design,
hospitality management,
Internships,
merchandising,
outdoors
It’s Spring time! We’re dying to get outside to start enjoying the improving weather, so please forgive us if it takes us a little longer to answer our e-mails. Many college students struggle with the decision between a summer job and an internship, often because they want to spend the Summer outdoors. Since we love organizations that offer different types of work experiences, today, we’re going to look at a non-profit called Wilderness Inquiry, which offers internships and, as an employer, is about as good as it gets for our outdoorsy readers.
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Internships,
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outdoors
