A powerful way to gain experience and increase one’s knowledge base about sustainability during college is to pursue an internship or volunteer at an organization. The Chicago region abounds with sustainability-related internship and volunteer opportunities offered by non-profit organizations, museums, scientific and educational institutions, companies, community and professional organizations, and more.

The past several years, students in RU’s Sustainability Studies program have completed internships or volunteered their time in a variety of fields, including biodiversity research, environmental conservation, public policy, environmental education and outreach, and campus education — to name but a few.

These experiences provide rich beyond-the-classroom learning environments for students, enable networking opportunities with sustainability professionals in a variety of fields, and enhance students’ resumés for graduate school and job searches.

For more information on finding internship and identifying volunteering opportunities in fields as diverse as urban farming, conservation biology, urban sustainability, community development, see this resource page here on my blog. And to learn about in more detail what past SUST students have done for their internship experiences, check out this info on the biannual SUST Student Symposium.