2005 Mellon Internships
Six students received Mellon Internship Grants as the program's sixth and final installment since its inception in 2000. The Internship Grant Program—one of the initiatives made possible by a $298,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation—was designed to offer students the opportunity to pursue environmental positions that would otherwise be unpaid or underpaid. The funds helped students engage in some interesting and admirable work this summer.
Katherine Cianciotto ('06) spent the summer at the Finger Lakes Institute in Geneva, NY. As an intern, Katherine, assisted with daily operations and special events, working on data entry and updating web-based resources, providing tours of the FLI’s exhibits, attending water quality meetings with the FLI staff and getting wet on the institute’s pontoon boats on which she helped with research and sampling.
Katherine Connelly ('08) worked as an intern at Helping Hands Garden of Hope in Newark, OH. Katie spent her days gardening alongside four to five young women who were serving community service time through the Licking County Juvenile Court. The garden of Hope is an organic gardening experience which donates its produce to a local food pantry.
Tiffany Finley ('06) served as an intern for the Alliance for Sustainability, a non-profit in Minneapolis, MN. The Alliance strives to bring together a wide range of agencies and organizations in support of sustainability. Tiffany’s work included project and partnership development and management, grant writing, membership development, marketing and public relations and grassroots outreach.
Matthew Hoffman ('07) spent the summer serving as a volunteer at the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) in Anchorage, AK. Matt’s work at the AVO’s Tephrachronology Lab consisted of sample preparation, organization, and data entry, as well as monitoring and processing seismis data and geological samples, and working with mapping, database and various other programs. Matt also got his hands dirty in the field from time to time.
Breanna Shell ('06) served this summer as coordinator of Helping Hands: Garden of Hope in Newark, OH, an organic gardening project for court-involved youth in Newark, OH. Melanie spends her days lesson-planning, educating and gardening with the girls, supervising Garden of Hope interns, and planning and implementing the lunch program, speakers, and field trips.
Chris Seigel ('06) spent his summer working with Breanna and Katie at Helping Hands Garden of Hope in Newark, OH. Chris describes working at the garden as "a perfect example of what integrated environmentalism is about. It requires knowledge about ecology and the environment, but also takes on a strong social focus through community outreach and service."