This year, 25 students, representing all five UNH colleges, are working as interns (part-time, up to 10 hrs/week, paid) at the Sustainability Institute (SI) to work on strategic projects in partnership with departments across campus to advance a wide variety of sustainability projects and culture at UNH. On February 14, 2024, many of the interns will showcase their work at an in-person poster session.
The SI intern program embodies the idea of “campus as a living lab” and is part of what makes UNH’s approach to sustainability unique. Students have an integral role in our ongoing excellence in sustainability by contributing to our campus efforts as part of their UNH education. Students are working alongside sustainability professionals, playing an active role in shaping UNH’s sustainability practices, and developing tangible and valuable experience for their future careers.
Funded by SI gift funds, the projects span research, project design and implementation, outreach and engagement and are being undertaken with collaboration, guidance, and support from staff partners such as Facilities, Energy and Utilities, Grounds and Events, Campus Stewardship, Hospitality and Campus Services, Transportation, Dining, Housing, Health and Wellness and many others across campus. These interns are providing much needed capacity and expertise to undertake projects that simply would not be possible without their involvement.
Climate and Energy Interns
Sofia Anestam '25, Environmental Engineering and Sustainability dual major
Brett Schultz '26, Business Administration and Sustainability dual major
Sofia and Brett are working with the UNH Energy Task Force to create and publish the campus annual greenhouse gas inventory update, and to identify and implement opportunities for climate leadership and education.
Ecosystem Interns
Louis Arinello '26, Spanish and Sustainability dual major
Ila Bartenstein '24, Environmental Science and Sociology
Karena Sazo '25, Environmental Conservation and Sustainability
Louis, Ila, Andrew, and Karena are are supporting UNH's sustainable landscape management efforts, including working to implement and expand a new program for developing, and doing outreach about, pollinator gardens on campus, working with the UNH Campus Stewardship and Grounds and Events teams, as well as the Ecosystem Task Force, to implement aspects of our Landscape Master Plan update, and developing and implementing outreach to students about these efforts and working with the UNH Utilities office, and the Ecosystem Task Force, to evaluate and improve our campus stormwater management infrastructure and practices, and to develop outreach to students about these efforts.
UNH STARS Interns
Marisa Bianchi '26, Undeclared
Abigail Blasi '24, Political Science and Sustainability dual major
Kathryn Kaufhold '26, Environmental Conservation and Sustainability
Anya Teehan '25, Environmental Conservation and Sustainability
Marisa, Abigail, Kathryn, and Anya are collecting data to support our STARS reporting requirements, supporting the Sustainability Task Force in creating a Sustainability 2030 roadmap, and identifying and implementing outreach opportunities about UNH sustainability initiatives reported in STARS, and are collecting and analyzing data about UNH's food purchases to support our 2024 STARS submission, and developing outreach about our sustainable food systems efforts.
"I appreciate the effort that is put into providing us with nutritious food that also helps the environment!" - Marisa
Sustainability Advocates Intern
Megan Broderick '24, Environmental Conservation and Sustainability
Megan is leading the Advocates and advancing sustainability in residential halls, building community and culture.
"I love feeling like I am part of a greater sustainability effort! Being able to help empower other students to learn more and be more active in creating a sustainable community has been one of my greatest opportunities at UNH." - Megan
UNH Zero Waste Interns
Caroline Cirillo '26, Environmental Conservation and Sustainability
Tess Hornbeck '24, Spanish, Musical Theatre and Sustainability dual major
Ben Kaminski '24, Recreational Management & Policy: Program and Event Management
Kailei Wedge '24, Environmental Conservation and Sustainability
Justin Wentworth '26, Environmental Science
Caroline, Tess, Ben, Kailei, and Justin are working on a variety of efforts to advance UNH's zero waste goals. They are creating and deploying outreach and training materials for UNH staff about effective recycling and opportunities for waste reduction, compiling a Zero Waste Roadmap for UNH as part of the ATLAS program run through the nationally recognized Post Landfill Action Network (PLAN), and creating and/or implementing campus outreach campaigns related to zero waste topics. This role as part of the ATLAS team will entail working and meeting weekly with student leaders from other campuses, under direct supervision from PLAN, as well as working with Sustainability Institute staff.
"Working to expand the reusable to-go program has allowed me to see how large-scale zero-waste projects can be carried out while developing my skills in budgeting, stakeholder collaboration, and overall project management." - Kailei
"We love that we can connect with peers who share a passion for the environment and make new friends. We also love how we are working to protect local watersheds like Great Bay by keeping our stormwater runoff clean. Save the aquatic life!" - Karena and Louis
UNH Bike Share and Athletics Intern
Nathan Maybach '24, Women's and Gender Studies, Psychology and Sustainability dual major
Victoria Whitcomb '27, Wildlife Conservation and Biology
Sustainability Dual Major Intern
Suzie Scharff '24, Women's and Gender Studies and Sustainability dual major
Suzie is supporting the Sustainability dual major, helping to make connections and building community among the students.
Sustainability Social Media Intern
Julia Fichera '26, Business Administration: Marketing
Julia is helping to grow the Sustainability Institute's online community and spreading awareness of sustainability action and opportunities on campus.
Office of Community, Equity and Diversity (OCED) intern
Troy '24, Community and Environmental Planning
Troy is supporting OCED with GIS mapping gender neutral bathrooms.
Student Sustainability Network Intern
Daisy Burns '24,
Daisy is working to build a strong community of sustainability-minded students at UNH by spreading awareness of opportunities through outreach.
URC Sustainability Symposium Intern
Sophie Goodwin '24, Sociology
Sophie is assisting Sustainability Institute staff with logistics and planning for the 2024 Undergraduate Research Conference's University-wide Sustainability Research Symposium
