The Intergovernmental Internship Cooperative honored interns and staff members for their end-of-season celebration on Aug 14.
The IIC is an SUU based partnership with state and federal public land agencies like The National Parks Service, BLM, Forest Service and other foundations. Interns are provided hands-on work experience to compliment their academic or career goals.
At the event, interns presented their completed projects and awards were presented to exceptional individuals. The Intern of the Year, which is nominated by mentors, was awarded to Amy Davis, an IIC veteran of five years. This year, Davis worked with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Cedar City.
“The [projects] she accomplished [were] just awesome and she is just wonderful,” Miranda Gubler, the IIC internship Coordinator, said. “She’s one of those happy personalities that makes you feel good when you see her so it was great so see that kind of person get nominated.”
Other Awards included Rookie of the Year, given to Chastiny Paul; Mentor of the Year was presented to Ferman Salas, who was nominated by multiple interns; and Crew Member of the Year was awarded to Braidin Jake.
Many of the achievements of the IIC this past year came from federal grants which funded exciting new programs such as the Ancestral Lands Program. The Zion Forever Project also received help from IIC interns this year.
“Some crew members went down to Zion after the flooding and helped rebuild trials and [preserve] campgrounds,” Danny Strand, the IIC Youth Crew Member Coordinator, said. “It’s a really cool thing that came out of our [Zion] partnerships.”
Founded in 2007 and starting with only 12 interns, the IIC has now grown to fund over 200 different internships.
“A lot of people see ‘parks service’ and think ‘I’ve got to wear boots, funny hats and dig a trench.’ That is not all of it,” Gubler said. “We have a very wide range of internships [including] accounting and administration.”
The most regular internships are biology or geology technicians working with the Forest Service, however other positions are available in areas like finance, marketing and graphic design. All programs are paid internships and credit eligible for current college students, recent graduates (up to two years) and even high school students.
The majority of the internships last from May to August but contracts are flexible for extensions. Many positions are currently recruiting for fall/winter projects.
Students interested in applying for an IIC internship can visit https://iicinternships.com/ or visit the Outdoor Engagement Center located in the Leadership Engagement Center (LEC).
Story By: Ansleigh Mikesell
outdoors@suunews.net
Pictures Provided By: SUU Outdoor Engagement Center
