Some of the best things come from things that did not initially seem promising. For example, we all love honey, but do we all really love bees? The ones that sting? For me, the Pollinator Conservation Internship I did two summers ago was kind of like this. When my university advisor first presented it to me as an option for one of the required internships, I was a bit hesitant, having not known much about pollinators. However, having completed the internship, I can very much say it was a purposeful and meaningful one. I learned many new things, met some great people, and went on some great field trips. To sum it up, I developed my communication, time management, and professionalism a lot while still having a number of unique and great experiences. My name is Jay Richardson, and I study Environmental Stewardship in the Institute of Applied Agriculture at the University of Maryland. I live in and am from Silver Spring, Maryland.
My internship took place at UMD, a few different locations, and remotely as well. My biggest assignment, which was completed close to the start of the work, was performing key data collection for the university’s initiative to be recertified as an official Bee Campus through the Xerces Society, which we successfully did. This was the work my supervisor wanted me to focus on the most. It all took place via computer and was very straightforward. I also did a great deal of independent research on pollinators and even attended relevant presentations outside of my assignments. The work I liked most doing was attending the College Park bee committee’s official meetings. It felt rewarding to meet people who truly care about the cause, especially in an area so close to where I live and attend school. It was also really cool going on field trips to different places like the United States Geographical Survey Bee Lab in Beltsville, Maryland, and learning about the important work they do.
Through the internship, I got much better at using professional communication, writing concise emails to my advisor and other professionals, and doing effective, efficient research. My supervisor was incredibly supportive throughout the process, and I really appreciate that she valued my suggestions and input on projects. She also did a great job of laying out the expectations transparently for each assignment, which made a big difference. I created many different PowerPoint presentations showing different events and projects that took place through PollinaTerps, the pollinator group on campus. Also, my editing suggestions for some important documents were actually taken into consideration, which felt encouraging.
In all truth, I don’t really intend to continue pollinator studies after graduating, but I still learned a lot and gained many skills through the internship. It was a highly positive experience in which I honed many skills and approaches to problems that might arise in the workplace. In all truth, it’s probably the highlight of my resume. It was great being able to learn about pollinators, which I really hadn’t thought of or appreciated before starting the internship. Now, I appreciate and understand them a lot. I like that the internship was related to my field of study, and the skills I acquired from it will go with me for the rest of my career.
