A few weeks ago I began the internship portion of the FIE program. FIE places you within an area that relates to your major or of interest to you. Fortunately for me, FIE placed me with the Pesticide Action Network-UK, or PAN-UK. This non-profit agency works to eliminate or severely reduces the amount of pesticides used in the UK's business, agriculture and domestic sectors. There are international branches in Africa, Europe, Asia/the Pacific and North America.
I was nervous about beginning my internship, since I had never had one before. While my friends interned this summer, I worked 30 hours per week to pay for some of my expenses here. I have office experience through my job at Marist, but nothing in the environmental field. I feared my inexperience would hinder me or leave me a step behind my peers. I also was anxious about the fact that FIE kept telling us that we would experience severe culture shock if we had not already felt it in England.
While FIE was right about experiencing some culture shock, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I have four coworkers in my tiny office, as well as another intern (she's French!) and a woman that comes in and does volunteer work in her free time. That was a bit of a shock, since I was not expecting such a small office, but I do not mind it. I get along with all of my coworkers well. They are very sweet and take an interest in what I am studying back home at Marist (since I have taken so many environmental and political science classes, they love to discuss politics and the environment with me). They make tea all the time, so I am constantly drinking tea and trying to be as "British" as I can in the work place. When I am in the office, I drink my tea with milk since it's how they drink it. It's actually quite good.
The second thing that sort of shocked me was the fact that every hour or so, a coworker would come up to me, and tell me to go for a walk, get some tea, stretch, etc. because I was working too hard and needed a break. They appreciate my "American" work ethic, but said I did not have to feel pressured to complete the assignments they gave me that same day, since they are meant to take more than one day. Never having an internship before, I was not sure if this was normal or not. According to my friends who had interned over the summer, back in America, it's very fast paced in internships and the attitudes are completely different. I like this pace though. I feel like the work I am producing is a better quality because I can take my time on it.
I get to dip my toes into a lot of different areas at PAN-UK. I did a lot of financial work my first two weeks, helping out with an auditing assignment. This past week, my third week, I was given a new assignment, since they wanted me to do some policy work. I then began to compile a list of all the pesticides banned in the European Union (EU). My supervisor told me I could go to Parliament with him this upcoming week, since he is constantly called on to testify at Parliament on pesticides and their effects on the environment. He is currently advocating for all neonicotinoids to be banned, since they are hurting bee populations. These dwindling populations are necessary for pollination and the multiple industries will suffer if these populations are not restored. It's a problem in the US as well. I had no idea before starting at PAN-UK that it was an issue here, too.
The only downside to my internship (well, it really isn't even a downside, it's just me complaining) is that my eyes do get tired after looking at a computer all day. I work 8 hour days, 4 days per week (hardly full time, but still). The breaks help, but at the end of my day, my eyes are quite tired. Also, commuting during rush hour on the tube can be a little tough/sweaty since it's so crowded. It's to be expected though: the average person commutes an hour to get to work in London. Those are my only two diva-like complaints though. Other than that, I love PAN-UK.
These are great experiences, and I am lucky PAN-UK let me come aboard to their office and staff, and made me feel right at home. What more could a girl ask for in an internship?
(I will keep you all updated as more exciting things happen at work).
