The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

We congratulate and honor our Nature Conservancy interns on their successful assignments throughout the United States and abroad. Many of our interns are joining us this summer for their second or third assignment!

Read below for testimonials from our interns to find out more about how a Conservancy internship can enhance your career and life skills and change the way you see the world.

Bernita Cooper

“My internship experience with The Nature Conservancy has been rewarding and unforgettable. While serving as a 2012 GLOBE Intern I have experienced and discovered nature in an adventurous way. The lessons I’ve learned this summer will definitely guide me in my future decisions. My desire to tell the stories and advocate for non-profits has become stronger because of this.”

—Bernita Cooper, Claflin University, Orangeburg, SC  

Sandra Moynihan

"At my internship with TNC in California, I've been able to combine my creative talents with my communication skills to gain a better understanding of how NGO's engage with online and digital audiences. Working with the California marketing team, I've learned there really is a method behind utilizing social media outlets, like Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube that can help put an organization into the public's eye. I've been able to do so much at my time here at TNC--social media, graphic design, analytics, video production-- and given the opportunity to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat." 

—Sandra Moynihan, George Washington University, Washington, DC  

Raymond Waweru

"This summer has been a rewarding experience. Working for The Nature Conservancy has provided me with a holistic experience in the environmental field. Through various projects this summer, I have learned first-hand how science, the community and relationships are integrated into conservation of natural resources. I have gained invaluable experience through this internship that will be influential in serving my community and the global community as the world continuously seeks to develop solutions to environmental and conservation challenges that threaten the vitality of its communities and the natural resources we all depend on."

—Raymond Waweru, Goshen College, Goshen, IN  

Kathyrn Bomey

“Through two summer internships with The Nature Conservancy, I gained a diversity of professional skills, ranging from hands-on science field work to strategic marketing. By interning at both a field office and the worldwide office, I developed an understanding of how an international nonprofit is managed and the ways in which many pieces work together to create TNC’s global impact on conservation. I had a wonderful experience with TNC, and I’m glad I was able to meaningfully contribute to the organization’s valuable conservation work.”

—Kathyrn Bomey, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Yasmeen Abdul-Quddus

“The Nature Conservancy is now more than just “another internship program” to me. It has become a new way of life. Since working with TNC, I can no longer walk down the city streets of New York and not think about the next thing I can do to be a part of building a better world.”

— Yasmeen Abdul-Quddus, Borough of Manhattan Community College New York, New York

Cybil “Nikki” Cavalieri

“Until I started work on the Great Lakes Blueprint project I did not realize how many landscape scale projects The Nature Conservancy was working on. The internship was a valuable career experience because I got to learn how conservation efforts are coordinated at a large scale, and how many different groups with different interests work together to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services for people. I learned how non-profit organizations work and how the work rolls up from smaller projects to big results.”

— Cybil “Nikki” Cavalieri of Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK

Jorge Alvarez

“This summer was indeed an experience worth talking about. Coming into the Conservancy was exciting as it was equally overwhelming. But with the help from all the friendly staff, I was able to see where I was at the moment and from there take the next step into what I will be doing to have a successful internship for both myself and The Nature Conservancy. I am grateful for this wonderful opportunity and glad to know The Nature Conservancy will continue the Diversity Internship Program.”

— Jorge Alvarez of Radford University Radford, VA

Rae Okawa

“I learned how to work well within an office environment, network with people within the conservation community and handle difficult and possibly controversial issues within the realm of conservation (invasive species control and management).”

— Rae Okawa of University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA