Goals for Summer 2020

My main goal for the summer is to get the most out of the GEOInterns Program and interning at the Ocean Conservancy. I hope to improve my writing abilities. Being able to synthesize and communicate science is a necessary skill, especially important in environmental activism, where current research is analyzed and condensed in order to educate and back policy.

As a result of the pandemic and the transition to remote-work, I would also like to create a regular work schedule while at home. I hope to improve my productivity and hold myself accountable for meeting deadlines without being present in-person at a job. I want to get better at self-motivation outside of a classroom setting as well. Most of the work I have done has been for school and for a grade so I’d like to develop a good work ethic for working on independent projects, which will be a helpful skill during graduate school.

This internship at the Ocean Conservancy will help me further my goals by providing insight into the role nonprofits play in climate change activism and how that can inform policy. I want to learn about what that process looks like in action. I plan on attending graduate school next year and have been researching masters programs at the intersection of ocean climate science and policy to apply to. This internship will also give me necessary career experience and build my resume, making me a more competitive applicant. At the Ocean Conservancy, I also hope to network and connect with people who are currently in this field and learn about the paths they have taken in order to inform my own. Building relationships with mentors is important to me as I graduate and transition out of college.

How covid-19 changed my summer plans

My summer plans have nearly all been canceled as a result of covid-19. I thought I would be spending my time completely differently than I am now. However, it isn’t too bad. I’m lucky to have been able to adapt and fill my schedule with new experiences.

Earlier this year, I applied to two REU programs. I would have been excited to attend either if there was no pandemic and I was accepted. One of them was on coastal ocean processes based at the USC Wrigley Institute, suspended until summer of 2021, and the other on water quality in the Yucatan Peninsula through Northern Illinois University, canceled for this year. I would have been out in the field right now working on a project. I was looking forward to this experience and am disappointed to have missed out.

I also anticipated traveling this summer. I usually take advantage of breaks between quarters to go on short trips. Last year in June, my mom and I went to Hong Kong to explore the city and eat the foods we can’t get here. We were hoping to either return or go to Taiwan instead. Other places I had in mind to visit were Seattle or Hawaii to see relatives, something I can’t do during the pandemic.

With no plans to travel and canceled opportunities because of covid-19, I spent extra time during spring quarter trying to fill this seemingly empty couple of months and it worked out well. I am glad to be a part of the GeoInterns program and interning at the Ocean Conservancy. Currently, I am working on the beginnings of a plastics and climate project, reading through relevant reports and papers.

In May, I signed up for the IRIS Seismology Workshop, a 14-week online program developed to replace the IRIS REU. I find it very interesting and like building my scientific coding skills. Covid-19 and the switch to an online format makes it possible for a global community of undergraduates to work together on the assignments every week. I am also applying to graduate programs. I’ve been looking up universities, drafting my personal statements, and studying for the GRE in my free time.

There’s plenty for me to do this summer. I’m keeping myself pretty busy but sitting hunched over at my desk, staring at my computer all day, makes it difficult to feel like I’ve accomplished anything tangible. I have to remember to get up and walk around outside occasionally, and set strict working hours so days don't all blend into one. It makes me appreciate my bus commute to campus more, leaving the house to go somewhere else isn’t something I thought I’d miss this much. With covid-19, I’m doing more than I would have expected stuck at home and maybe even more than I would’ve been if there was no pandemic at all.

GeoScience Career Panel Reflection

I enjoyed the career panel last Friday and appreciated the opportunity to see the variety of careers a degree in the geosciences can lead to. Of the panelists, Ellen’s career story resonated with me the most. It was interesting to hear that someone who began in a research lab and did not continue on to get a PhD but still remained in a science-related field. I have been considering jobs outside of an academic setting that bridge the gap between research and the general public. Science outreach and communication are also important aspects of science work. Being able to synthesize results and communicate them is necessary to both inform government policies and educate people in an accessible way.

I was most surprised by all of the different paths that the panelists took to reach their current positions. It has made me less nervous about what I am going to do next year after I graduate. Learning about other career paths has put my own into perspective. It is clearer to me that there is time, I am just at the beginning of my journey in the geosciences and it will work out in the end.

I would like to learn more about temporary, seasonal positions for recent graduates. These short internships seem like a good opportunity to try out a job, and leave the position having made connections and gained a better understanding of that field. As someone who doesn’t have much research experience and isn’t sure about what the future holds, these temporary jobs are appealing, especially if they have the potential to turn into permanent positions as they did for a few of the panelists. I will be looking into some next year as an option.

My outlook on post-graduation has changed slightly. It is reassuring to know that I don’t need to follow a strict path and can take my time to find out what I enjoy.

Final Reflection

My main goal for the summer was to get the most I could out of being an intern at Ocean Conservancy, despite the pandemic and having to work remotely. I didn’t have high expectations and was thankful that I had an opportunity at all because they are difficult to find right now. The REU programs I applied to earlier this year were both cancelled for the summer back in March. I greatly appreciate that I still participated in a program that will add to my resume and further my career in Earth Sciences.

Of the goals I set for myself, I had hoped I would improve my writing and science communication skills. That wasn’t the case this summer because my project was predominantly quantitative. However, navigating working at home was another goal of mine and I did improve my work ethic beyond the classroom on the whole. I learned that it was necessary for me to have structure if I wanted to complete work on time and how important taking time for breaks is. As a student, it’s easy for school to take over and extend beyond the 8 hours from 9 to 5, blending into the weekends. But by keeping my working hours strict, I used my time more effectively and I believe my mental health benefited from being able to set everything aside at the end of the day.

A downside of working remotely was that I did not get to experience the day to day of an environmental advocate at a non-profit. However, I was assigned and spearheaded my own project that will become the foundation for future work Ocean Conservancy does at the intersection of plastics and climate change. I also was still able to establish a good relationship with my mentors, though much of it was over zoom, that will hopefully lead to new connections. Expanding my network in this field is important to me as I work on applying to graduate programs in ocean and climate policy.

My project was to create an excel sheet that estimated the global life cycle emissions of plastic over a year. I studied the three most significant plastic producing regions, US, China, and Europe, and calculated emissions from feedstock extraction to end of life. I input the data into a live spreadsheet that calculated total and relative impacts of the different aspects of production and compared them by country, which could be then used for hypothesis testing. I found the emissions numbers from direct studies as well as my own calculations by referencing volume of production and emission factors, in order to get a complete picture. This is significant because the full climate impact of plastic is not completely understood and with the anticipation of a yearly growth in production, it is more important than ever to take into consideration. This work aligns with advocacy Ocean Conservancy has started to mitigate the effects of climate change from plastic and I am excited to have contributed to it.

In the first week, I thought I would be conducting a literature review on plastic production until a new idea came up during a meeting. Although I didn’t get to improve my writing over the course of the internship, I am glad the emissions table was what I put my time into. I practiced finding peer reviewed papers, reading them effectively, and keeping them organized, skills that are an important part of being an academic. This project also tested my ability to synthesize and analyze information, not in written form but quantitatively. It was fairly self-directed and I created my spreadsheet from the bottom up, pouring in many hours reading up about plastics, from oil to olefin to incineration, and building the right knowledge to even know what questions to ask. Working independently, especially during a pandemic, meant I needed to develop my own schedule while at home and stick to it, something I haven’t had to practice much outside of the classroom. This summer was an exercise in allocating my time efficiently and keeping myself motivated. I learned about myself as well, what my work style is and that I appreciate guidance and regular check-ins from my mentor.

The only thing I wish had been different was that the goals of the internship had been more clear to me at the beginning. My own expectations were low as well. Perhaps if they had been higher and I had known about the participation in the AGU conference, I could have hit the ground running with research. The internship got off to a slow start for me, I didn’t have an assigned project until about two weeks in. Before then, I had been summarizing various government reports regarding plastic policy. However, it all worked out and overall, this was a beneficial experience.