Action | Student News
Mr. Andeck Goes to Washington
MEM Candidate Networks with Nicholas Alumni
When MEM candidate Greg Andeck went to Washington
this summer for a 10-week internship in the office of Sen.
Barbara Boxer, he did what comes naturally to any D.C. insider:
he networked.
In between busy hours doing research for an upcoming
oceans bill and briefing Boxer’s two fulltime environmental
staffers, Greg found time to touch base with a handful of
the hundreds of Nicholas School MEM graduates who have migrated
to the nation’s capital. And why shouldn’t they? As well being
as an exciting cultural milieu, Washington, D.C., offers a
cornucopia of career choices, from environmental NGOs to government
agencies and lawmakers’ offices.
Greg hopes to go to work for a policymaker when
he graduates in 2005, either in D.C. or in a state government.
As a Cornell undergraduate, he spent a semester in Washington
as an intern for the National Wildlife Federation, lobbying
lawmakers on wildlife issues. Through that experience, he
learned, “I’d rather be the person behind the door that gets
knocked on than the person doing the knocking.” In a policymaker’s
office, he believes, there is an enormous potential and responsibility
to affect people’s lives: “It’s quite sobering to know that
my actions in Washington or a state government have the ability
to affect people and the environment literally thousands of
miles away.”
On behalf of current and future MEM students
contemplating a move to D.C., Greg picked the brains of five
alumni whose career paths are as diverse as their experiences
at the Nicholas School:
- Robert Bonnie MEM/MF 1994, managing director
for Environmental Defense’s Center for Conservation Initiatives;
- Noriko “Nori” Shoji CEM 1999, a National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) detailee
in the office of Sen. Daniel Inouye;
- Elizabeth Sklad MEM 1999, the invasive
species program coordinator for The Nature Conservancy;
- Guy Foulks MEM 2000, a biologist in the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Bird Habitat
Conservation; and
- Rebecca “Becca” Newhall CEM 2002, a contractor
in the Office of Special Projects, NOAA.
From them, he learned that what goes on outside
the classroom at the Nicholas School is just as important
as what goes on inside. Getting to know classmates and being
involved in student organizations will help him build relationships
with interesting and smart people who may help him land that
dream job or close a political deal. And he discovered that
finding the right job in Washington requires perseverance
and a willingness to “do your time” in temporary or contracting
jobs while searching for one that’s the perfect match.
Here’s what Greg’s interviewees had to say.
Greg: What makes your organization a good
one to work for?
Robert: [Environmental Defense]
is very solution-oriented and pragmatic, and values creative
thinking. … The Nicholas School values the same things. I
like the approach here. We’re less ideological, less dogmatic
than some organizations, and we place a high premium on getting
the job done and finding solutions. I like that.
Elizabeth: The Nature Conservancy
has an excellent reputation. At TNC, a principle exists that
everything should be science-based. I really like this aspect
of the organization. … It happens to be one of the nation’s
largest landowners. Owning so much land really makes threats
to the environment, like invasive species or climate change,
hit home.
Becca: [NOAA] is a good place
to do both the science and policy. It has a mix of original
science work, like calculating the area of coral reef ecosystems,
and working on policy/management and understanding our marine
protected areas. It has a nice balance going on and you really
feel like you’re making a difference.
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