Rachel Smith, a Sustainability Management major in the College of Business is completing her internship experience at City of St. Petersburg in Water Resources. See what Rachel is up to and read what how her internship shaped her future employment.

“My internship is as an Environmental Specialist in the Industrial Pre-Treatment program with the city of St. Petersburg. It is a very hands on and technical position. I learned SO much over the 8 week course about what goes into treating the City of St. Petersburg waste water and the importance of what happens when you dump something down the drain.  I was able to experience water sampling from within the City’s sewer lines. Water reclamation plants as well as Lake Maggiore and several other waterways within the area.  This water eventually makes its way into Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and affects all aspects of our environment.

Prior to doing this internship, I didn’t even know what an Environmental Specialist was.  It is now a career field that I would strongly consider, if not in the field work, then perhaps the administrative side of Industrial Pre-Treatment.  Water samples are tested in a State Certified Lab, and all of that work requires permitting as well as adherence to State and Local regulations.  My degree major is Sustainability Management and the safety of our waterways it a vital part of sustainability.

I would encourage any student to pursue the opportunity of an internship through classes offered at SPC.  I think that the knowledge gained from the hands on training is and especially valuable to the education process.  It is one thing to see and study out of a book in a classroom setting.  It is quite another to actually perform the work in the field. This is the most technical hands on experience I have had and I have learned a lot.”

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