ELM STUDENT INTERNS WITH PARK CONSERVANCY
ELM College Counselor, Claudia Lang’s interview with flute player and evironmentalist, Angelica Calderon
Last summer, ELM students Angelica Calderon and Emily Alonzo attended Deer Hill Expeditions - a three-week adventure camp in Colorado with kayaking, backpacking, camping, and community service. Thanks to ELM friend Linda Mornell, the students received a full scholarship to attend.
For the summer following 10th grade, Angelica wanted to continue exploring her love of the environment. With ELM’s support, she successfully applied to the Parks Conservancy LINC (Linking Individuals to their Natural Community) Internship.
Tell us about the LINC internship
The LINC internship was 6 weeks long and took place over various state parks around San Francisco Bay. It was a paid internship, so I received $2,400 after we finished. There were various projects and learning opportunities – like cleaning up hiking trails, getting rid of invasive species, another time we went to a garden and learned about developing native plants for the parks. We also had career training such as mock interviews, and we got to meet people from different career paths - we heard from a conservancy manager, a park ranger, an environmental lawyer, and a realtor. We also had some fun activities like hiking, kayaking, camping, and mountain biking.
What was the application process like?
It was a very competitive application process - more than 100 students applied, and 23 were accepted. I feel very proud that I was one of the students they accepted. When I interviewed for LINC I told them about my experience last summer with Deer Hill in Colorado, and how it fueled my passion for the environment, and I think that helped my application stand out.
How has this experience impacted your career goals?
This internship has made me want to work in an environmentally oriented field. I’m looking into landscape architecture. I was interested in architecture before the internship, and now this experience has focused my interest more to use my knowledge to help the environment. I want to continue to do volunteer work and be involved in environmental restoration.
