Prepare for a green career while in school

By Jennifer Coleman

Environmental Defense

There is no better time than the present to start preparing for your success and sometimes, the best way to learn is to get out of the classroom and into the field. Here are some ideas for extra-curricular activities from green corporation experts at the national nonprofit Environmental Defense. Environmental Defense works with businesses like FedEx, DuPont, Wal-Mart and McDonalds to help them find ways to create significant environmental benefits while making good business sense and transform their industries through green technology. Sometimes that means simple, smart changes based on existing technology - and sometimes it means spurring new technology that can revolutionize the way companies do business.

Reach out
"Independent studies with professors can be a great experience," says Kyle Cahill, Project Manager with the Corporate Partnerships program at Environmental Defense. "At most universities, professors have a dual job - to teach, and also to conduct their own research. You can find professors doing interesting environmental work in disciplines as varied as marketing, engineering, and science. Opportunities to assist a professor in research and writing as they explore new ideas, is a valuable opportunity."

Cheryl Pickard, the HR specialist at Environmental Defense, says that many Environmental Defense staff members give guest lectures or teach occasional courses at universities. Attending these lectures, and asking your professors to introduce you to nonprofit colleagues, can also be a great learning experience.

Cheryl also recommends attending job fairs in order to learn more about the field. Human resources staff may be busy and distracted while in the office, but when they are at a job fair, they are offering their undivided attention to students and job seekers.

Explore the working world
For the business, communications or other non-environmental major, Kyle Cahill advises internships or summer jobs at nonprofit environmental groups. "It helps if students can get out there and see what major nonprofit organizations are actually doing," says Kyle. "The work is very different than ten years ago -- it is more analytical, more creative - and there are many opportunities for people from many backgrounds."

For the environmental policy or sciences major interested in green jobs at businesses, Kyle recommends looking for business experience. "Anything you can do to understand and speak the language of a business person is helpful," says Kyle. "They speak a certain way, receive information a certain way, run meetings in a particular way. The more you can become familiar and understand that, the better."

Volunteer
"If someone is a volunteer - and it doesn't have to be environmental work - it tells me that they are the kind of person I want to work with," says Pam Vivian, Associate Director of Administration at Environmental Defense. "Volunteering shows a type of work ethic, dedication and personality that makes a good colleague. If someone volunteers at an Alzheimer care center, for example - here's someone with both empathy and strength." http://www.volunteermatch.org http://www.idealist.org/volunteer

Get active in the community
Both Cheryl and Kyle recommend looking locally for opportunities to learn about real-life green issues. Look for community meetings where environmental issues are on the table. Green decision makers often host community meetings to hear opinions on proposed regulations; those meetings are open to the public.

To find out about meetings in your area hosted by your region's Environmental Protection Agency, find their office here: http://www.epa.gov/epahome/whereyoulive.htm#regiontext

It can also be valuable to get involved in campus community programs. "Universities are at the forefront of activism," says Kyle. "Campus groups are among the most active on green issues." Check out the Campus Climate Challenge: http://climatechallenge.org/

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