The Sierra Club Maryland Chapter Summer Interns have been working hard to fight for the environment in the state of Maryland. Meet our energetic and dedicated group of interns!
Rachael Higbee
From Bel Air, MD, meet Rachael Higbee, our Communications Intern! She is a junior at the University of Maryland double majoring in Environmental Science & Policy and Film Studies. She loves drumming, kayaking, boating, the Baltimore Ravens, the Washington Capitals, and traveling. Here she is pictured by Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica! Rachael loves environmentalism because it brings people together who are all striving to protect the planet for future generations.
Caroline Fletcher
Meet Caroline Fletcher, our Political Intern! From Owings, MD, Caroline is currently a senior at Washington & Lee University double majoring in Political Science and Math. She loves white water rafting, hiking, rock climbing, and snowshoeing - here she is snowshoeing on Mt. Rainer! Caroline loves environmentalism because it’s a fun way to meet people who also love being outdoors and protect all the beautiful nature around us.
Ariel Plotnick
Pictured here is Ariel Plotnick, one of our Stewardship Outing Interns from Bethesda, MD! She is a junior at the University of Delaware, majoring in Marine Science with a Wildlife Conservation and Ecology minor. She loves scuba diving, snorkeling, camping, and swimming - no wonder she was named after the Little Mermaid! In this picture she is scuba diving in Little Cayman when she studied abroad there. Ariel is passionate about environmentalism because even the most remote and beautiful ecosystems are being affected by climate change.
Jason Brand
From Bethesda, MD, meet Jason Brand, our Political Intern! Jason has been interning with the Sierra Club Maryland Chapter since August 2017. He graduated from UMBC in 2016 with a B.A. in Geography with a focus in Environmental Policy. A die hard Washington Capitals fan, Jason loves photography, movies, hiking, and camping. He owes his love of nature and the outdoors to his parents, who took him to many National Parks as a kid, and the Boy Scouts.
Erin McKeown
This is Erin McKeown, our Water Conservation and Beyond Gas Intern! From Forest Hill, MD, she is a senior at Rutgers University-New Brunswick majoring in Environmental Policy. A barista and a vegetarian of 5 years, Erin loves to spend time by the water and go hiking. She enjoys the phrase “we need the earth, but the earth doesn’t need us” as it expresses how we must take care of our home if it is going to be here for future generations.
Hannah Dale
Meet Hannah Dale, our Conservation Outings Intern! From Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (the Mushroom Capital of the World!) Hannah is a senior at the University of Maryland majoring in Anthropology and minoring in French and Sustainability. When she’s not hiking, creek walking, or canoeing, you can find her playing the piano, singing, or reading. Hannah loves the environment because it creates amazing biodiversity, and the positive ways in which we interact with the environment and vice versa have led to incredible and versatile knowledge.
Yasmine Darwish
Meet Yasmine Darwish, our Stewardship Outing and Administrative Intern! From Fulton, Maryland, she is a University of Maryland upcoming graduate with a major in Environmental Science and Technology - Ecological Design. Yasmine loves to travel and spend time in the ocean snorkeling and jet skiing. She is very passionate about the environment and is fascinated by coral reefs and marine life! Spending two weeks in the Bahamas with an environmental conservation justice group taught her to appreciate what nature has to offer. Yasmine believes that it’s important to protect the environment for our future generations to love and appreciate, and to promote the love of nature to protect biodiversity!
Sam Hosmer-Quint
Sam is our Transportation Intern and hails from Columbia, Missouri. He is currently an undeclared sophomore at Kenyon College in Ohio. Sam is passionate about soccer, travel, and food, and loves reading, history, musicals, anythings outdoors, and boardgames! His favorite outdoor activities are camping, hiking, rafting, biking, sailing, and skiing. Sam grew up outdoors- in boy scouts, on the soccer field, hiking in the woods, and playing in fields. The natural world is more beautiful than anything humans have created, but we continue to destroy it. Environmentalism is important to him in order to protect that beauty for future generations to enjoy, but also is a necessity for future generations and our own to prosper with sufficient resources.