AUSTIN (KXAN) — Preparing for the future is something on the minds of many college students, especially during a pandemic.
“STEM jobs are highly coveted, and they are in-demand careers, and they pay really well,” said Juanita Baldwin, education and outreach coordinator with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. “They allow students an opportunity to look at the world in curious ways and to help solve problems.”
STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Math — is an area Baldwin says students can thrive, and an internship can help them ready themselves for life after college.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Mickey Leland Environmental Internship program.
The program connects college students with an interest in STEM jobs to TCEQ and companies across the state.
“Many of whom are women, minorities, economically disadvantaged students,” Baldwin said. “We want to allow them to learn about the environment and allow them to be future leaders.”
“It was really a key stepping stone for me,” said Lauren Parrish, a former intern who placed with the Edwards Aquafer Protection Program through the program. “It is interesting all the different opportunities there are that you just don’t know about until you are put into a position where you are in the field.”
Baldwin says with Austin’s growing industries it’s a great place to form connections, and with a career in STEM, there are plenty of options.
“There has never been a better time for students to test drive a career via a summer internship and the best part is, it’s paid,” Baldwin said.
Students can apply for the internship program from December until the end of February. This year more than 500 applicants applied from all over the nation.
“My internship was, like, a working interview,” Parrish said. “As soon as they had an opening they called me up.”
The program places about 140 interns a year, but last year because of the pandemic only 60 positions were available.
TCEQ has more information about the internship program on their website.
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