Throughout my Spring Semester, I have been working closely with the team at Alliance for Sustainable Communities to publish Left Turn and Sustainable Lehigh Valley. Left Turn presents essays and articles by members of the Lehigh Valley focused on global capitalism, methods for sustainable development, and, in the most recent issue, the Israel-Palestine conflict. When I came into this internship, the Israel-Palestine conflict was nearing month three; as I finish this internship, the conflict has been ongoing for six months. Throughout April 2024, students and faculty at colleges and universities nationwide have begun to speak out against the injustices occurring in the Middle East. The actions of these individuals further echo that change starts with the individual. Throughout my internship, I have seen several instances of individuals being the change. All writers and artists of the two publications demonstrated that passion is one of the strongest drivers for change. As Alliance’s editorial intern, receiving numerous submissions from high school students on their passion for sustainability has further my hope for the future of our planet. My blog post on “The Little Things Count” was inspired by the activism of individuals worldwide who are advocating for a more just world. As I wrote in my blog, “Any effort made to combat climate change is one worth noting, even the little things.”
Throughout my internship, I had the opportunity to talk with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, such as Peter Crownfield, Greg Zahm, and Gene Hunter. Throughout the semester, I had weekly meetings with Peter via Zoom every Tuesday and Friday, where we discussed upcoming deadlines and events of the Alliance. These meetings significantly improved my organizational and communication skills. Throughout February and March, Peter and I dedicated each meeting to reviewing the Sustainable Lehigh Valley draft of the booklet. Helping in formatting the booklet unveiled a whole new perspective on publishing and the processes that are included such as sequencing, page colors, ad placement, etc. Speaking with Greg Zahm throughout the internship inspired several of my blog posts dedicated to environmental education. Greg is currently on sabbatical and is pursuing the development of environmental education in Lehigh Valley School districts. I was able to provide Greg with an insider perspective on the benefits of environmental education, as in New Jersey, I attended a high school program dedicated to environmental science in the classroom. My most recent blog post focuses on the use of environmental education in schools and how it can be applicable to Language Arts, Engineering, History, Art, etc. I met Gene Hunter at the Nurture Nature Climate Summit, where we handed out the Spring editions of Sustainable Lehigh Valley to high school students from surrounding areas. At this event we spoke to several high school students about their own passions for sustainability and drivers for advocating for a healthier planet.
For the Spring Sustainable Lehigh Valley edition, I have the opportunity to create my own submission to be featured in the booklet. For my submission, I wrote an essay titled “Capturing Real Memories” based on a prior piece that Peter had sent me called “King of the Mud Flats.” My submission focused on climate change’s impacts on places we love the most, which for me is the Jersey Shore. Oftentimes, writing essays for classes is a time-consuming process that I stress over for several days; however, this was not the case for Alliance. Throughout the Alliance internship, writing for the Alliance webpage and booklet allowed me to express my creative outlet for environmental education and advocating for our planet. Creating written pieces for the Alliance deepened my interest in writing.
My favorite blog post throughout my internship was “Links to Lake Hopatcong.” My passion for the environment stemmed from my high school education and the ecosystem of Lake Hopatcong. Just like the Alliance mission, my blog post focused on an issue that was near and dear to my heart. For the past few years, Lake Hopatcong has been suffering from repetitive algae blooms that have severely harmed the lake’s ecosystem. Through my blog post, I was able to combine my majors of Environmental Policy and Government & Law to create a piece resemblant of beliefs. In the blog post, I attached my favorite image of Lake Hopatcong on a quiet and foggy Sunday morning. The photo was taken in the main section of the lake that typically is swarmed by motorized boats, but had not been that morning due to the weather. That day on the lake reminded me of the peace and serenity that the environment can provide to us.
My internship at Alliance has deepened my understanding and appreciation of our environment. The environment of people who surround us with similar and different interests brings us together. The environment of nature and all of its different components provide humans with an outlet of peace. Throughout my career at Lafayette and beyond, I will uphold Alliance’s mission of working for community sustainability. Without a community, change does not occur.
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