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INTERNSHIPS |
ECHO’s mission
is to educate and delight people about the Ecology,
Culture, History, and Opportunity
for stewardship of the Lake Champlain Basin. Through live
animal demonstrations and hands-on exhibits, on-site University
science laboratory, community programs and partnerships, and
a dramatic Waterfront setting, students find ways to create
better futures for themselves, and for the world. |
| Interns play an important role at ECHO. They bring experience,
leadership skills, and enthusiasm to support our mission to
educate and delight our visitors about the Ecology, Culture,
History and Opportunities for Stewardship in the Lake Champlain
Basin. While at ECHO, Interns gain hands-on experience
to build relevant job skills, craft a competitive resume,
and further their individual and/or career goals. Interns
receive training in their area of focus, work closely with
a staff mentor and work both independently and collaboratively
on projects in support of ECHO’s mission.
ECHO provides a variety of internships throughout the school
year and during the summer. These internships are in the
following departments: Education, Animal Care, Private Events
and Customer Service, Marketing and Information Technology.
Please read the following intern descriptions to determine
what position might be of interest and how to apply.
Time Commitment: Please look at the following intern
descriptions for the number of hours or shifts required
for each position.
Compensation: All interns will be eligible for the
following:
- Departmental training and mentoring
- Independent project work
- Development of workplace and leadership skills
- Team building experiences
College Credit: Internships may be available for
college credit. Please contact your adviser or intern services
for more information.
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Opportunities:
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Steps to an Intern or Work-Study position at ECHO:
1. Read position descriptions and choose one that interests
you
2. Fill
out our online application: Some positions may also
require a resume and cover letter
3. Interview with appropriate department
4. Sign intern/work study agreement and read training
handbook (PDF)
5. Complete background check
6. Complete ECHO Orientation and Internship Training
**Note: Please allow at least two weeks to complete
the application process.
Questions? CONTACT
Amanda Van Vranken, Volunteer Coordinator
802.864.1848 ext. 116
volunteer@echovermont.org
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Education
 Public
Programs Intern
Responsible to: Public Education Manager
Description: Interns works among our team of educators to
assist in the delivery and development of interactive, dynamic programs
for family visitors. Interns will conduct public presentations and
facilitate activities for diverse visitors on a daily basis. The
public program internship offers a challenging and rewarding experience
for anyone considering a career in education. Qualifications:
Applicants should be dynamic, enthusiastic about science and interested
in working with people. Experience in education, theater, environmental
studies, or related majors preferred. Interns should be comfortable
speaking in front of small to large groups and be generally familiar
with the natural history of the area.
Time Commitment: Fall/Spring: Fifteen week commitment
with a minimum of 20 to 30 hours a week.
Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. for 15 weeks.
Stipend: Fall and spring interns will receive a stipend
of $1,000.00 after the completion of their 15 weeks of work.
School Programs Intern
Responsible to: Group Programs Coordinator
Description: Interns work among our team of educators
to assist in the delivery and enhancement of interactive, dynamic
school programs for K-6 audiences. This intern will greet school
groups and busses, deliver hands-on science lessons to visiting
school groups and coordinate materials and lesson plans related
to school programs.
Qualifications: Applicants should be dynamic, enthusiastic
about science and interested in working with people. Experience
in education, theater, environmental studies, or related majors
preferred. Interns should be comfortable speaking in front of
small to large groups and be generally familiar with the natural
history of the area.
Time Commitment: Fall/Spring: Fifteen week commitment
with a minimum of 20 to 30 hours a week.
Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. for 15 weeks.
Stipend: Fall and Spring Interns will receive a stipend
of $1,000.00 after the completion of their 15 weeks of work.
Teen Environmental Leadership
Program (E-Team) Intern
Responsible to: Public Education Coordinator
Description: ECHO’s E-Team is a teen environmental leadership
program for area ninth and tenth graders. The E-Team Intern will
coordinate and lead weekly teen training sessions, communicate
with teens and their families, coordinate teen activities and
supervise teen weekend educator shifts at ECHO. This internship
will offer a challenging and highly rewarding experience for anyone
considering a career in secondary education or interest in interacting
with the public, teen program development, curriculum development,
and leadership training skills.
Qualifications: Applicants should be dynamic, enthusiastic
about science and interested in mentoring a diverse group of teens.
Applicants must demonstrate cultural competency and multicultural
awareness. Experience working with teens and/or mentoring, and
familiarity with environmental science and local ecology preferred.
Time Commitment: Fall/Spring: Fifteen week commitment,
yearlong preferred. Minimum 20 to 30 hours a week; occasional
evenings. You must be available to work one weekend shift and
Wednesday afternoons from 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Stipend: Fall and Spring Interns will receive a stipend
of $1,000.00 after the completion of their 15 weeks of work.
Lifelong Learning in Science Intern
Responsible to: Lifelong Learning Coordinator
Description: Interns work with our Education team
to assist in the delivery and enhancement of daytime and
evening events designed for adult audiences. Interns will
gain teaching experience by presenting adult oriented topics
and interactive activities to ECHO’s visiting audiences.
Interns will also experience all aspects of hosting adult-focused
evening events, including research, marketing, coordination
and facilitation.
Qualifications: Applicants should be dynamic, enthusiastic
about science and interested engaging adult audiences. Interns
should be comfortable with technology, detail-oriented,
and able to work independently and as part of a team.
Time Commitment: Fall/Spring: Fifteen week commitment
with a minimum of 20 to 30 hours a week. You must be available
to work occasional weekend and/or evening shifts; assisting
with programming on the second Thursday night of the month
is a priority.
Stipend: Fall and Spring Interns will receive a
stipend of $1,000.00 after the completion of their 15 weeks
of work. |
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Social Media Magician Internship
Responsible to: Conservation Education
Specialist and Director of Marketing & Communications
Description: Interns will be challenged to take
news from the water conservation community and tweak it
for our Facebook and Twitter accounts to build conversation
around conservation issues. Duties include collaborating
with education staff to solicit content from online users
for the Voices for the Lake digital media collection and
curating the growing collection. This position is full of
opportunity to experiment with strategies for engaging online
users in discussion about watershed issues and motivating
them to get involved in making a difference in their community.
Other opportunities include tech support for building a
Google Map of watershed organizations and a calendar plug-in
for the Voices for the Lake website.
Qualifications: Applicants should exhibit the ability
to spin content into digestible bits of information, to
navigate social networks like Facebook, and to create engaging
opportunities for online users to share and discuss watershed
issues in the Lake Champlain basin. Knowledge of Google
Maps preferred.
Time Commitment: Fall/Spring: 15 week commitment,
yearlong preferred. 20-30 hours a week, with flexibility
on meeting times and days, during the M-F work week.
Stipend: Fall and Spring Interns will receive a
stipend of $1,000.00 after the completion of their 15 weeks
of work. |
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Summer Education Intern
Responsible to: Public Education Manager
Description: A team of Education Interns serve
as ECHO's floor staff during our fast paced, busy summer months.
This paid internship provides graduate and undergraduate students
the chance to gain practical experience with formal and informal
teaching opportunities with visitors of all ages. This internship
requires both team and independent work, four days a week from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m..
You and your team will:
- Coordinate volunteer exhibit interpreters on a daily basis
- Interact informally with visitors to facilitate engagement
with exhibits
- Conduct live education demos on a daily basis
- Conduct on-floor interactive encounters for visitors
- Set up and clean up exhibits and activities throughout the
day
- Work with an advisor on ECHO-related educational projects
Qualifications: Applicants should be dynamic,
enthusiastic about science and interested in working with people.
Experience in education, theater, environmental studies, or related
majors preferred. Interns should be comfortable speaking in front
of small to large groups and be generally familiar with the natural
history of the area.
Time Commitment: June 4 - August 28, 2012,
four days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Training runs from June
4 - 8, 2012).
Compensation: $9.00 an hour
Application Deadline: March 30, 2012
Animal Care
Animal Care Intern
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Responsible to: Director of Animal Care and Facilities
Description: The Animal Care Intern learns about
professional, state of the art animal care as is provided
in Association of Zoo and
Aquarium accredited aquariums and zoos throughout
the US. Interns learn about, and assist in, all aspects
of animal care provided to native fish and reptiles as well
as native and exotic amphibians. Responsibilities to include:
feeding animals, cleaning animal enclosures, medicating
animals, creating and installing naturalistic habitats,
animal handling; record keeping, researching natural history
and captive husbandry; educational presentations to ECHO
guests, and more. Interns may assist in collection of new
specimens as necessary.
Qualifications: Applicants will be enthusiastic,
detail-oriented, reliable, and willing to get wet and/or
dirty! Occasional heavy lifting (up to 40 pounds) may be
required. Majors in wildlife biology, pre-vet, aquaculture,
environmental science, or related majors and/or past experience
with animal care and husbandry recommended but not required.
Time Commitment: Internships are a semester commitment.
Fall (September-December) Spring (January-May) Summer (June-August)
Minimum of two, four hour shift per week; any day of the
week. Start time: either 7 a.m. or 1 p.m. |
Guest Services and Private
Event Management:
Private Event Management Intern
Responsible to: Director of Guest Service and Private Events
Description: Guest Service and Event Interns will assist
at our front desk, in our gift shop and help with events at ECHO.
Interns will get a complete understanding of our front of the
house operations, guest services, groups and event management.
Interns will be able to develop customer service skills, work
with point of sale computer programs, assist with event marketing,
sales, planning and execution.
Qualifications: Assist ECHO’s Event Coordinators with
inquiries, tours, planning and actual event execution. We are
seeking a person with good written and verbal communications skills,
pleasant telephone manner, and flexible personality. Computer
skills including proficiency with Microsoft Office and familiarity
with using database applications are desired. Hours vary and some
evening work is necessary. Some heavy lifting required. Interns
seeking careers in development, public relations, marketing, or
non-profit-specific positions will find the most direct benefit
from this Internship.
Time Commitment: Internships are a semester commitment.
Fall (September-December) Spring (January-May) Summer (June-August)
This position requires 15 to 20 hours a week. Must be able
to work nights and weekends.
Marketing and Communications:
Marketing Intern
Responsible to: Director of Marketing and Communications
Description: This Intern will assist in advancing
ECHO through extensive marketing and public relations efforts.
S/he will gain experience in: marketing research, coordination/facilitation
of monthly e-newsletter, writing reports and press releases,
list maintenance, orchestrating college campaign, representing
ECHO at events and meetings in the community, and more.
This is an exciting opportunity for strong personal growth
with an institution making a significant difference in the
quality of life in the Lake Champlain Basin and beyond.
Qualifications: The chosen candidate will be positive,
energetic, and comfortable with a fast pace. Some experience
with marketing desired, though not essential, along with
strong attention to detail, excellent communication, interpersonal,
organizational skills and experience with social media such
as Facebook and Twitter.
Time Commitment: Internships are a semester commitment.
Fall (September-December) Spring (January-May) Summer (June-August)
The position is 10-15 hours a week, with flexibility on
meeting times and days. Some weekends required. |
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IT Intern
Responsible to: Information Technology Coordinator
Description: Assist the IT Coordinator in providing
support to Staff and Volunteers, maintaining servers, wired
and wireless networking hardware, and digital PBX phone
system. ECHO's IT infrastructure is a unique blend of a
typical small corporate network, retail environment, and
unique technology based exhibits. You'll work with IBM and
Cisco equipment, VMWare ESXi virtualization,and a mix of
Windows and GNU/Linux network operating systems. Projects
may involve documenting existing infrastructure, researching,
planning, and deploying new technologies, and auditing network
policies. This is an exciting opportunity to gain practical
experience in many diverse areas of Information Technology,
with an institution making a significant difference in the
quality of life in the Lake Champlain Basin and beyond.
Qualifications: We are looking for students who
are responsible, detail-oriented, and able to work independently
and as part of a team. Ideal candidates will have good communication
skills and the ability to explain technology to non-technical
staff. Experience in computer networking, information security,
and computer science majors a plus.
Time Commitment: Internships are a semester commitment.
Fall (September-December) Spring (January-May) Summer (June-August)
The position is 10-15 hours a week, with flexibility on
meeting times and days. The ideal candidate for this internship
would be available for both fall and spring semesters. |
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Summer IT Intern:
12 Week paid internship, May 21-August 12, 2012. Four days
of training May 15-18, 2012.
Time Commitment: 9:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., 4 days a week between Monday and Friday.
Compensation: $10.00 an hour.
Application deadline: Friday March 30,
2012.
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Development:
Development Intern
Responsible to: Development Associate
Description: ECHO’s development internship offers
a challenging and highly rewarding experience for anyone considering
a career in non-profit fundraising or communications and beyond.
Responsibilities may include:
- Assist with print and e-based annual fund appeals
- Support community outreach efforts including ECHO’s Open
Door community access program, in-kind giving program and external
communications such as e-mail updates and blog posts
- Manage membership data and documentation
- Support grant writing and administration efforts
- Support fundraising and cultivation events
Qualifications: We are seeking an individual
who is responsible, detail-oriented and able to work both independently
and as part of a team. The ideal candidate will be proficient
in Microsoft Office, have strong oral and written communication
skills and the ability to handle sensitive information with sound
judgment and discretion. Prior experience with fundraising and/or
database software preferred.
Time commitment: Internships are a semester
commitment: Fall (September-December), Spring (January-May) or
Summer (May-August). Fifteen week commitment of 20 to 30 hours
a week. You must be available to work occasional weekend and/or
evening shifts.
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1.802.864.1848
