Michael Jarcho '03

National Council for Science and the Environment

It is a very difficult task to summarize my entire summer experience, working as an intern for the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), because there were so many new experiences. Some of these included attending academic lectures, listening to congressional briefings, and attending and contributing to committee meetings. Before this summer I had never even seen the Capital Building, and suddenly I was inside it listening to Congressmen speak about conservation.

The organization I was working for, NCSE is a small non-profit with the main focus being on bringing together scientists and policy makers to improve the scientific basis for making environmental decisions. The company thrives because of its location, Washington, D.C. This location allows faculty to routinely meet with members of Congress, and it also makes for a very enriching experience as an intern.

One benefit of interning in the nation’s capitol is that anyone who really wants to voice an opinion comes to Washington to speak. As a result, there were lectures and presentations weekly at the National Museum of Natural History. I attended many of these, including one on global warming and another on the first habituation of the western lowlands gorilla. Both of these presentations were very educational, and for a guy who grew up in a small town without the events a city brings, very exciting. I also attended a lecture at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in which I had the privilege of hearing the Chief of Staff, William Parsons, speak. I was so intrigued by Dr. Parsons’ speech that I wrote him after the event to commend him on his presentation and to request more materials concerning the Holocaust. Within a week I received a return letter, along with many of the museum’s publications concerning the Holocaust. This was one of the many experiences that would never be possible anywhere else.

My experiences in the office were just as exciting as those outside. An ongoing project throughout the summer was the University Affiliate Program, of which Colby has recently become a member. The Program is a major source of revenue for the Council and provides the affiliates with many benefits. I played a crucial role in this project, and by the end of my internship over $350,000 had been raised. This money will allow NCSE to play its role by making sure that the EPA provides funding to universities for scientific research, by organizing an annual conference which affiliates are invited to, and many other functions that benefit affiliates and improve awareness of environmental issues.

Overall, this internship has been a very rewarding experience. I learned an incredible amount about many different aspects of environmental policy, and business in general. I have also gotten to know many people in the field of environmental policy through the planning committee meetings and congressional briefings that could be very helpful in the future if I ever need advice or ideas about environmental science. This summer has also given me a new direction in my plans for the future. I have had a chance to look into many different graduate programs in Biology and have begun to narrow down the list of schools that I will apply to during my senior year at Colby. I recommend Washington, D.C. and NCSE to anyone that is looking for an internship in environmental policy. I had a great experience with it.