Community Engaged Internship in PA
Pennsylvania students participate in Community Engaged Internship Program
The Community Engaged Internship Program is an 8-9 week paid summer internship program for undergraduate students in Pennsylvania, and it is part of a national internship program for Sea Grant programs across the country. Since the program started in 2021, ten students have worked with Pennsylvania Sea Grant staff on project topics such as environmental literacy, aquatic invasive species prevention, science communications, economic impacts, and natural history collections. In 2024, the following students participated in the program:

Leah Jarmolowicz, PA Sea Grant 2024 CEI Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) intern
Leah was a rising junior at Michigan State University studying biosystems engineering with a concentration in ecological engineering and a minor in marine ecosystem management. Leah focused on aquatic invasive species (AIS), assisting in identifying opportunities for partnerships, presentations, and events. She also helped update existing AIS related resources and develop new resources.

Carly Maxwell, PA Sea Grant 2024 CEI Environmental Literacy Intern
Carly was a rising junior at West Chester University studying Secondary Education in Biology. Her work helped with the creation and implementation of professional development programs and ensuring that existing materials addressed Pennsylvania’s K-12 Academic standards for science, technology & engineering, environmental literacy and sustainability (STEELS).

Holden Cooper, PA Sea Grant 2024 CEI Natural History Museum intern
Holden graduated from Penn State Behrend in May 2024 with a degree in biology with a focus on ecology, evolution, and behavior. Holden assisted the curator of the Natural History Museum, Mark Lethaby, with the maintenance of the collections of flora and fauna housed at the Tom Ride Environmental Center, entering data into the specimen database, and assisting with the collection of new specimens.