EAST ALTON, IL – Eighteen students from 15 schools in 11 different states visited Lewis and Clark Community College’s National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) at the Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station to begin the 2019 NGRREC Summer Internship program in late May.

“The intern program kicked off with a Short Course where students were exposed to a variety of projects and management efforts happening locally,” said Director of Environmental Education and Citizen Science Natalie Marioni. “Additionally, the interns had an opportunity to ask science professionals about their chosen career paths during a natural resources career panel where students gained a better understanding of the differences in working for academic, governmental, and non-profit agencies.”

The interns are spending the summer working alongside mentors on various research projects related to river ecology and education, and they will reconvene at the end of the summer to present their findings at the annual Intern Symposium, which will take place July 29 on L&C’s Godfrey campus.

“This year we have 18 very talented and driven students participating in diverse internship projects from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to St. Louis, Missouri, Alton, Illinois, to Rolla, Missouri,” Marioni said. “We are grateful for the support we receive from the Monticello College Foundation, which is sponsoring two of our current projects.”

Approximately 150 students applied for the 2019 internship. Those applicants represent 96 schools from 31 states.

Since the program’s inception in 2003, 402 interns have been placed, and 60 institutions and organizations have hosted interns.

You can learn more about the program at www.ngrrec.org/internship and view additional photos at www.flickr.com/ngrrec.  

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠)

Founded in 2002 as a collaborative partnership between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Lewis and Clark Community College, NGRREC is dedicated to the study of great river systems and the communities that use them. The center aspires to be a leader in scholarly research, education, and outreach related to the interconnectedness of large rivers, their floodplains, watersheds, and their associated communities. To learn more about NGRREC, visit www.ngrrec.org.