Earlier this summer, four bright high school students completed their internship at HARC through the Education for Tomorrow Alliance (EfTA) Student Internship Program. This program provides rising high school seniors with the opportunity to work with career professionals and learn outside the classroom. EfTA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating education and community partnerships that advance student success. In fact, EfTA was actually created by HARC, in partnership with the Woodlands Chamber of Commerce, almost 35 years ago to help leverage and cultivate local talent in The Woodlands. HARC continues to see the incredible value in investing in our students and future scientists.
This year, rising high school seniors around the Woodlands area – Ana, Rohit, Pooja, and Hailey – took part in the EfTA Student Internship Program at HARC. Throughout June, all four interns worked at HARC’s Living Lab Headquarters, supporting HARC staff with research and communications projects. At the end of their internship, these young stars had to give a presentation to HARC and EfTA staff and their family members about their internship experience at HARC. All four students offered insights into the projects they worked on and what they will take away from their experience as interns at HARC.
HARC interviewed each of the EfTA interns before they finished their summer internships to find out more about them and showcase the skills they learned during their time at HARC.
Ana
Tell me about yourself
I’m going to be a senior after the summer is over. I really love science and I’m a creative person, so I’d like to study engineering, but I’m not sure which area yet.
What projects did you work on while at HARC?
I worked on a couple of projects during my HARC EfTA internship. I had to complete a literature review on how HARC’s Living Lab building and other LEED certified buildings can become more bird friendly. I also worked with HARC’s Senior Research Scientist, Kirsten Vernin, to support her with the bird survey she manages at HARC’s Living Lab campus.
What did you get out of the internship? What did you learn?
I learned a lot. I got better at compiling research and data in a way that made it easier for people to understand the information. I learned how to find sources and how to distinguish what is a legitimate and useful source from those that are not. I also got to increase my knowledge of biology through this internship.
What was your favorite part about your internship?
I really liked applying data and science with the creative. When I was done pulling all the data together, I really enjoyed being able to use design elements and create infographics to display the information in a creative way.
Was there anything that surprised you?
I was pleasantly surprised that everyone at HARC was so approachable. I assumed that everyone would be too busy with their own work, but everyone was happy to volunteer their time to help me learn more about HARC and their different projects. Everyone was very welcoming at HARC.
What are you most proud of?
I got better at using Excel because I had never really learned how to use it before.
What’s next for you?
I’ll be enjoying the rest of my summer by trying to relax, but I also have to study for my SATs, start narrowing down my college list, and begin the college application process. I’m hoping to go to the University of Texas or Texas A&M, but I also want to research options out of state, too.
Rohit
Tell me about yourself
I finished my junior year and I’m about to become a senior. I like playing tennis, ping pong, and reading. Academically, I’m interested in studying Computer Science at hopefully the University of Texas.
What projects did you work on while at HARC?
I worked on a couple of projects during my internship. I had to research sustainability and computing, looking at the ways to decrease energy usage in data centers to reduce emissions. I also worked on the Energy Fellow Tool, which measures the best way to integrate clean energy technologies into buildings. I got to test the tool and provide feedback to the HARC Energy team.
What did you get out of the internship? What did you learn?
I learned a lot about clean energy technologies and the connection between sustainability and data centers. I also improved my writing skills by getting to write a blog for HARC, where I had to learn how to condense information focusing on the key points so that people understand the main messages of what I’m trying to convey.
What was your favorite part about your internship?
All the regular meetings with the Clean Energy team at HARC. I learned so much from all of them every day during my internship.
Was there anything that surprised you?
I was surprised at the number of research projects each HARC researcher is working on. Everyone has at least 4 or 5 projects they’re working on at the same time.
What are you most proud of?
I think I did a better job than I thought I would at understanding some of the higher-level concepts that I wasn’t familiar with before.
What’s next for you?
I’m actually going travelling to Canada with my family this summer, which I’m really looking forward to.
Pooja
Tell me about yourself
I’m Pooja and I’m going to be a senior later this year. I’m hoping to go to Texas A&M for college. I’m also really interested in becoming a Forensic Scientist so I can join the FBI one day.
What projects did you work on while at HARC?
For my EfTA internship, I joined HARC’s Communications team, where I helped develop HARC’s June newsletter and wrote content for and posted on HARC’s social media channels.
What did you get out of the internship? What did you learn?
I can sometimes struggle expressing what I want to say, so this internship helped me improve how to communicate, write, and edit for different audiences and channels. It helped me learn how to process information for different communication purposes, such as identifying important points to focus on, eliminating information that isn’t necessary, and summarizing important information.
What was your favorite part about your internship?
I made great new friends through this internship. I also liked how it made me get out of my comfort zone, and it helped me improve my writing skills.
Was there anything that surprised you?
I had to write content and post it on social media for the very first time. I had never done it before since I don’t have personal accounts.
What are you most proud of?
I’m proud of myself for not giving up and completing the HARC June newsletter along with learning how to write professional social media posts for an organization.
What’s next for you?
In the short term, I’m going to try and enjoy my summer holidays and relax a little bit. However, I also have to write college and scholarship essays for college applications, which will keep me busy for the rest of the summer.
Hailey
Tell me about yourself
I’m Hailey and I’ll be a senior. I am hoping to go to Sam Houston State University, and I’m really interested in studying Computer Science.
What projects did you work on while at HARC?
I worked closely with HARC’s Water Research team during my internship, mainly focusing on the Galveston Bay Report Card (GBRC). I had to research other similar projects and come up with ideas on how to improve the GBRC website, including the current “What You Can Do Tool”, to reach a wider audience.
What did you get out of the internship? What did you learn?
I learned how to be a better employee, what working in a real organization is like, how to communicate, manage my time, and how to do projects properly. I also learned how to research – there was a lot more of it than I expected!
What was your favorite part about your internship?
The people – everyone at HARC was super nice and welcoming, which put me right at ease.
Was there anything that surprised you?
I’m really surprised that I managed to pull off this internship! I successfully completed the internship and managed to produce work that was clear and concise, and that HARC staff understood. I felt a real sense of accomplishment being able to complete the tasks that I was asked to do.
What are you most proud of?
I’m proud of myself for being able to break out of my shell during this internship. It helped me become more open to working with and learning from new people.
What’s next for you?
I’ll be applying for colleges this summer, including and especially to Sam Houston State University!
