This week, we are featuring intern Jacob Burch.
CEES is lucky to have several undergraduate interns on staff. Over the last couple of years, CEES interns have been working hard creating and executing science lessons to at-risk youth in the Indianapolis area. Through programming at the Felege Hiwot Center, to working in Indianapolis Public Schools 51 and 69, to Service Learning at IUPUI, the interns have been able to gain a unique, hands-on experience with environmental science in an outdoor classroom setting.
Duties of a CEES intern include, but are not limited to, creating new lesson plans according to state standards, successfully executing these lessons, working with the CEES educational trailer, assisting in the CEES lab with research, participating in and leading IUPUI’s Service Learning activites, organizing offices and storage units, and completing paperwork.
Intern programming has included lessons and experiments in environmental and physical sciences. Topics covered include watershed, the solar system, ecosystems, electric circuitry, the human body, robotics, plate tectonics, introductory mineralogy, aviation, and some topics in chemistry.
Each week, tune in to learn more about our interns and their time with CEES and at IUPUI.
Full name: Jacob Burch
Major: Geology & Environmental Science
Year in school: Senior
Hometown: Mooresville, IN
IUPUI/Community Extracurriculars: Jacob is the President of the Geology Club at IUPUI.
CEES hire date: January 2014
Jacob’s post-graduate plans: Jacob plans to work in his field of interest and continue enjoying nature whenever he can.
Jacob reflects on his time with CEES: Since getting hired at CEES, I have been able to work with the trailer at IUPUI, in a classroom setting at IPS, in the CEES lab, and also with IUPUI’s Environmental Science Service Learning. I would have to say that my favorite place I worked while with CEES would be with the trailer at the IPS schools. We got to combine the outdoors, technology, and science to teach the kids in a really fun and interactive way. It was pretty neat to see the kids get so excited about science and the trailer programming.