What's one of the first questions a potential employer will ask? You probably already know the answer--it's, "What experience do you have?" 

At Mansfield we understand that "real world" experience complements your coursework and increases your job prospects. That's why our Geography programs specifically include an internship as an option--an option that we highly recommend. Of course, appropriate summer jobs accomplish the same purpose and are equally useful. Majors in Earth and Space Science, our teacher preparation program, also get practical experience. A full semester of student teaching is required of them.

Here are some of the internships and summer jobs that our students have completed recently.

Lee Miller: Internship with a private contractor at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State. Used GPS and GIS to update maps of the site; placed in charge of the interns from other schools.

Brad Cole: Summer job and internship with a popular geography website. Brad used his map creation skills to prepare a collection of maps that are being viewed by 20,000 to 40,000 people each day. His internship supervisor said that Brad's maps are an important part of one of the best static map collections on the web. The map collection has attracted links from the websites of numerous libraries, government agencies and schools.

Brett Carpenter: Internship with Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program (PGGURP), a competitive internship through the University of Buffalo and NASA. Identified a specific research problem (frozen sand dunes on Mars) which incorporated several disciplines (geology, geomorphology and astronomy); conducted the necessary research to compiled a table showing the signatures of frozen sand dunes. This had never been done before.

Edward Shaffer: Internship with the Pennsylvania Geological Survey as part of The Harrisburg Semester Internship (THIS). Only one student from each state university campus is granted this internship. Served as an assistant to the Director of the Survey.

Ryan McClellan: Internship at a company marketing minerals for agriculture and industrial uses. Conducted field sampling; researched the properties and potential agricultural uses of calcium silicate and wrote reports on his findings; helped identify possible markets for calcium silicate. Ryan's supervisor included these comments on his evaluation, "From his first week, it was apparent Ryan's environmental background and computer mapping skills would prove to be quite valuable and useful to our marketing and research teams."

Tara Murphy: Internship at an environmental/conservation education center. Worked as a camp counselor; developed lesson plans and presented classes on various environmental/conservation topics; monitored students for academic, educational and emotional problems; assisted on hikes and Arts and Crafts activities dealing with birding and Native American lore; assisted in lessons on tracking animals, wetlands, Acid Mine Drainage, atmospheric pollution and water quality. Among the comments her supervisor sent to us were, "Tara has been better than expected; in fact, she is one of the best we ever had. She works well with kids." He also suggested that she apply for a position when she graduates. He had never before suggested this for one of his interns.

Lia Verbonitz: Internship at a Human Services agency as an environmental educator. Developed lesson plans and presented classes appropriate for a teen audience; dealt with behavior modification and adventure therapy; responsible for emphasizing and monitoring safety measures during at-risk activities; interacted with parents/guardians, social service workers and teachers on a regular basis. Her supervisor included these comments in his evaluation, "I highly recommend Lia Verbonitz for future placement, as well as commend Mansfield University for providing such an outstanding and model student with an excellent background."

Christie Lane: Internship at the wastewater treatment section of a milk processing plant. Collected and tested samples; monitored residual and hazardous waste; compiled a lab manual; helped compile monthly reports relating to regulatory agencies; completed OSHA required safety training. Her supervisor included this comment in his evaluation, "I can honestly say that she is ready to take over the duties of Environmental Manager... should I ever vacate this position."

Robert Schwarz: Internship with a county GIS office. Worked as a GIS technician; helped compile a municipal GIS database; utilized ArcView and ArcGIS software.

Jesse Suders: Internship with the Student Conservation Association on a project in California dealing with habitat restoration. Employed techniques in habitat restoration such as vertical restoration; engaged in public outreach and education; utilized his GIS and GPS skills.

Amanda Kendrick: Internship in a county Planning Office. Worked on an All Hazard Mitigation Plan; developed a series of GIS maps; assisted in the development of a grant application.

Ann Bryant: Summer job and internship with a popular science website. Ann is writing science content for the website and photographing mineral specimens. Her supervisor said that Ann has become an expert at photographing mineral specimens. She is now building a collection of mineral photos that will be one of the largest and best on the web. It will serve as a reference gallery for students and mineral collectors worldwide.

April "Candi" Hulett: Was a participant in the Human-Environment Regional Observatory (HERO) REU Site, a highly selective summer research program sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Studied the effect of climate on the local environment.

Adam Kitchen: Summer job with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Water Quality Division. Conducted on-lot septic system surveys and took water samples where appropriate.

H. Donald Whipple: Summer job with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Gathered field data and complied maps using GIS software.

Adam Hills: Summer job with a county Conservation District. Helped conduct an assessment of two watersheds; worked with public watershed organizations; helped in writing a grant; assisted various specialists and technicians in the office.

Amber Mase: Summer job with planning agency. Researched and recommended zoning language on wind power; worked on an economic development strategy for a local community; assisted on the Chemung River Float.

Adam Voorhees: Summer job with a planning agency. Helped prepare a grant relating to the development of brownfields; researched and recommended zoning language for mining and mobile homes; assisted in the development of computerized zoning and site assessment maps.

Nathan Barnes: Summer job with a tri-county municipal waste authority. Involved in various aspects of recycling.

Autumn Clark: Summer job as a Park Ranger for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Responsible for patrolling and enforcing campground regulations; gave educational presentations to campers.

Colin Wilson: Summer job as a park Ranger for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Responsible for the coordination of all boundary maintenance and inspections; maintained GIS databases; oversaw data entry and updating of GIS files.

Christy Pratt: Summer job with a popular science website. Christy built a collection of teacher resources that are being viewed by 6,000 to 10,000 visitors per month. Her supervisor says that her resource collection has been linked to by dozens of universities and science teacher associations in the United States and Canada.

Drew Smith: Job with a county GIS office. Verified agricultural security status of parcels within the county; located, verified and mapped known cemeteries within the county.

Dustin Urban: YMCA camp counselor. Trip and trail coordinator; Village Head; Cabin Counselor.

Zachary Armstrong: Summer job as a surveyor. Rod man and instrument man.