Students invited to avail of nine summer internship opportunities

Summer will be more exciting for local high school students this year as the Coastal Resource Management Office, in collaboration with Division of Environmental Quality and Division of Fish and Wildlife, will be offering internship to qualified applicants.

Coral reef specialist Qamar Schuyler said the Coral Reef Initiative is sponsoring the program for the fourth year. The internship program aims to get local students experience work within the government and be involved in natural resources management.

“For those students who plan to live and work in the CNMI long-term, [we will] recruit and train them so they will stay here and work for the environment,” she said.

Schuyler said the students would be paid $7 per hour, though interns will have to take care of their own housing and transportation.

“Preference will be given to students with a long-term interest in working in the CNMI,” she said. Interns will have to develop and complete a project in addition to participating in ongoing activities at the host agency.

Deadline for submission of applications is on April 14 and candidates will be reviewed and interviewed beginning this May, with the internship program expected to start in June.

Students will have to work between 20 to 40 hours a week throughout the duration of the summer program.

There are nine available positions. DEQ requires three interns for its “Know Your Watershed” non-point source pollution campaign, for biology or marine science, and its Site Assessment and Remediation program.

Four interns are needed at CRM to fill the enforcement and permit practices for in-water activities affecting coral reefs.

Interested students must submit one letter of recommendation either from a professor or an employer, together with updated resume, official transcript, and statement of interest, including desired position, by April 14, 2005.

Materials can be emailed to Qamar.Schuyler@crm.gov.mp, or can be sent through mail to Qamar Schuyler, Coastal Resources Management Office, PO Box 10000, Saipan, MP 96950 or fax to (670) 664-8315.

Schuyler said that the duration of the internship program depends on available funds. She said funding is available as of this time from June to August, and actual dates and hours worked will vary according to interns’ availability. Contact Schuyler for more information at 664-8320.