Thanks to our Summer 2021 Interns!
Sweet Water was fortunate to work with six awesome interns this summer to help us build and implement some of our water quality improvement programs! We couldn’t have asked for a more enthusiastic and resilient bunch to help us solve problems and conduct research to help strengthen our organizational work. Thank you again to this amazing group- we can’t wait to see how you continue to improve the world around you through your future work and studies!
Daniel Christian
University: Concordia University Wisconsin
Major: Environmental Studies/Justice and Public Policy
Why you wanted to intern with Sweet Water and/or what skills you hope to gain: I wanted to work at Sweet Water because of the importance of their mission in restoring and maintaining local watersheds. I would also like to gain knowledge on how I am able to protect the waters for the betterment of my community.
What you do to enjoy water:I spend the majority of my free time in both the summer and winter fishing.
Future (or current) career aspirations: I hope to find a career that allows me to help the environment and better my own community in any way that I can.
Why we appreciate Dan: Dan’s interest in learning about multiple communities in southeastern Wisconsin came in handy as he helped us research new audiences to educate about how they can help prevent stormwater pollution. We appreciated the work he put in to help us improve the reach of our public education program!
Mélodie Dushime
University: Texas A&M, Commerce
Anticipated Graduation: August 2021
Area of study and/or work experience: Environmental Science.
Why you wanted to intern with Sweet Water and/or what skills you hope to gain: I wanted to intern with Sweet Water because their goals to restore and protect Greater Milwaukee Watersheds, helping residents become more knowledgeable and responsive about storm water pollution, align with my passion to find sustainable and eco friendly solutions for clean water. I hope to gain the following skills: critical analysis of planning and policy documents, developing and using GIS applications, problem solving, time management, teamwork, independent learning, and last but not least, data organization and analysis.
What you do to enjoy water: I love swimming. This is one of my passions that stuck with me ever since I was little.
Future (or current) career aspirations: Pursuing a master’s degree in hydrology, so as to gain necessary skills and experience that will be beneficial in providing access to clean tap water to residents in my home country(Rwanda).
Why we appreciate Melodie: Melodie’s attention to detail was so important as she helped us to research and design outreach materials to help us educate the public about how to prevent illicit discharges. Her enthusiasm to learn multiple new skills to help support Sweet Water was extremely helpful!
Alicia Doberstein
University: UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Science
Anticipated Graduation: 2023
Area of study and/or work experience: BS Biology, perusing an MS in Freshwater Sciences & Technology: Professional Track
Why you wanted to intern with Sweet Water and/or what skills you hope to gain: I wanted to intern with Sweet Water because I’m interested in learning how community changes are made using science-backed and creative solutions that drive towards healthier watersheds and ultimately healthier communities. I’m also really interested in learning and applying methods for monitoring freshwater bodies and interning at Sweet Water provides experience in both of those things!
What you do to enjoy water: My favorite thing to do is canoe on the Boundary Waters in MN. It’s such an inspiring place and I love it.
Future (or current) career aspirations: I’m early in the program so my career aspirations are still broad but I think I’d like to work for a public entity doing freshwater monitoring or hydrology of some sort.
Why we appreciate Alicia: Alicia’s technical background and strong research skills made her a great asset to the team. Whether reading lengthy Comprehensive plans to help us learn more about the communities of southeastern Wisconsin or researching illicit discharge detection methods, Alicia’s research was always thorough and meticulous!
Callan Hanley
University: UW-Madison
Anticipated Graduation: May 2022
Area of study and/or work experience: Mechanical Engineering
Why you wanted to intern with Sweet Water and/or what skills you hope to gain: I’ve always been passionate about nature and sustainability, and this position at Sweet Water provided a great opportunity to get relevant work experience while also being able to clean up the environment.
What you do to enjoy water: I enjoy waterskiing, fishing, and canoeing/kayaking.
Future (or current) career aspirations: I hope to be given the opportunity to design renewable energy systems.
Why we appreciate Callan: When some of our summer programs ran into delays, Callan was always ready to adapt and eager to help us with research that helped build the strength of our programs. Whether it was researching technical information about stormwater best management practices or illicit discharge detection procedures, Callan was quick to become an expert on new topics and concepts.
Kevin Tsuru
Alma Mater: University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Graduated: May 2020
Area of Study: Environmental Sciences and Soil Science Minor
Why I wanted to intern with Sweet Water: I want to learn in greater detail about how watershed organizations work, and would like to take what I learned in school and actively apply it to the real world.
What I do to enjoy water: Whether it be walking along a river, swimming in a lake, or kayaking through a stream, being close to the water helps me keep my mind calm.
Future career aspirations: I’m not sure exactly what the title of my dream profession would be, but as long as I’m helping improve the health of the Earth and the people that live there, then I’ll be happy.
Why we appreciate Kevin: Kevin demonstrated his passion for communicating complex stormwater issues to different audiences through a variety of mechanisms. Whether it was through talking to the public at a community event or developing a graphic to explain the effects of pet waste on water quality, Kevin’s strong communication skills were a huge asset!
Garrett Wieland-Hamilton
Name: Garrett Wieland-Hamilton
Alma-Mater: UW-Milwaukee
Graduation: January 2021
Area of study and/or work experience: BS Conservation and Environmental Sciences
Why we appreciate Garrett: Garrett has worked with our organization for almost a year now, starting with a class project he was involved in during undergrad. We are so fortunate to work with an individual who is so dedicated to improving water quality. His help with preparing for the new interns was instrumental and we continue to be impressed by his can-do attitude!