CPSP 118e - Internship Preparation - Spring

This portion of the second colloquium for first-year ETE students emphasizes exploration of individual personal, academic, and career interests as they relate to the environment, technology, or economy. By the end of the semester, each student will produce a formal proposal for an internship, which is the capstone experience in the Environment, Technology & Economy program.

SCHEDULE OVERVIEW

Unless otherwise notified, we will meet in your regularly scheduled small (discussion) sections.

All Assignments are due in your small section class the week indicated -- if your small section meets on a Wednesday, your due date is the Wednesday indicated. These due dates also appear on your CPSP 118E COURSE SYLLABUS.

Your High School Activities
  • List ALL high school activities; include in-school and out-of-school activities, jobs, volunteer experiences, awards and honors. What you liked doing in the past is an important clue to what you might want to do in the future.
  • You can find the High School Activities Worksheet - HERE.
  • This assignment will provide the basis of Assignments 2, 3, and 4, so it's important to complete it thoroughly.
OPTION A - Majors & Careers
  • Option A - Worksheet. Print out the assignment, then spend time "surfing" the links below before writing your paper.

Your Personality and Careers

  • Career Finder - careers organized by personality type
  • Quest - Ball State University Career Quiz
  • What can I do with a major in...? - career information organized by major.

  • All careers - Occupational Outlook Handbook
  • Science & policy - includes biological resources, policy and planning, outdoor and environmental education, earth systems, and information sciences.
  • ETE-related careers - including animal sciences, "green engineering," landscape architecture, outdoor education, sustainable tourism, and others.
  • Current job-openings - environment-related.

  • Google - Type "your career interest" + "environment" (or "green" or "sustainable"), e.g., "sustainable engineering," into Google and see what you get!

Majors

OPTION B - ETE & YOU
  • Option B Worksheet. Print out the assignment, then spend time "surfing" the links below before writing your paper.

  • Environment, Technology & Economy Library - check out our collection of books on a wide variety of environment-related topics. The ETE Library is located in Room 1213 Centreville, right next to the ETE Office. Contact Ms. Grover if you don't know the code to get in!
  • Environmental organizations - Explore groups working on issues of interest.
  • Environmental studies - Explore different ways of looking at the environment.
  • Google - Learn about environmental issues confronting your home state by typing "your home state" + "environmental" into Google.
    • If you are a Maryland state resident, try "Your County, Maryland" + "environmental" to get a County perspective.
  • Google - Learn about your home region's environmental history by typing in "environmental history" + "your home state" + "your region"
    • Examples of "regions" include: "New England", "Chesapeake", "Mid-Atlantic," etc.
  • Google Scholar - Learn how your academic interests "connect" to scholarly work in environmental studies by typing "your major" + "environment" into Google Scholar.
Internship IDEAS Paper

1. Generate Ideas

You may propose virtually ANY experience provided it is meaningful to you personally, academically and/or career-wise. The only requirements are that the experience be a learning experience for you and that you gain approval before starting. Your internship does not have to be environment-related!!

  • Talk to family, friends, former teachers, supervisors, etc., to discuss ideas and possibilities.
  • Explore the links below, and make notes on a print-out of the INTERNSHIP IDEAS PAPER.
  • Follow the directions carefully, and type up your ideas. A carefully crafted Internship Ideas paper will give you a head start on the Final Proposal.

2. Find possible internship sites

3. Make an environmental connection

Resume Writing
FINAL Draft of your Proposal
  • The Internship Proposal.
  • DON'T WORRY if, when you get home, you find your internship plans have changed! Your well-written final proposal will 99.9% probably work fine. Get in touch, and we'll work something out, I promise!! Over the summer, your first point of contact will be Ms. Katherine Sye Grover, ksgrover@umd.edu