by Gabe Rosenbloom, Spring 2019 Intern
I came into the Sierra Club with minimal background in the environment, but it has now become a focal point of interest. Interning at the Sierra Club broadened my scope of the environment, the political arena, and the network in which change takes place. The Sierra Club acts as a base in which elected officials can come together to communicate their views on city and statewide issues. Coming in every Friday was so meaningful as I got to contribute to fixing the real life issues that exist in our world rather than just learning about them in school. As a political intern I got to see and understand how the Sierra Club is able to communicate their message across on a city and statewide level to elected officials.
Throughout my internship I spent time at the Boston statehouse and attended multiple events where I interacted with numerous elected officials on the Sierra Club's behalf. Through my interactions I began to further understand the importance of valuing and hearing multiple perspectives on how to approach environmental issues. One event that I helped organize took place at Framingham State University where the Sierra Club held a summit with elected officials from across Massachusetts to discuss the needed change to become more environmentally friendly; while at the same time, discussed the importance of reaching out to communities at a local level to see how they can make a difference, such as implementing new buildings and attempting to save trees. Throughout the summit, the Sierra Club acted as a guide in which they would set these elected officials up with the resources and explain the way these changes are implemented. I found this both necessary and incredibly inspiring as I was surrounded by so many people desiring immense change. I also realized that the immense change needs to start on the local level in order to pave the way for environmental policy on the federal level. The amount of work that goes into the Sierra Club's mission is great. By acting as a base that connects a wide range of elected officials on environmental issues the Sierra Club has set the stage on being at the forefront of the environment’s agenda.
The Sierra Club has inspired me to work on the environments behalf. As I am studying both law and the environment in school, in the future I hope to do work in which I can continue to advocate for the environment with the help of the Sierra Club's contacts. Doing work on the environments behalf and putting that work into action is only the beginning of how change is made. I know the work I did as a political intern only accomplished so much. The environment is an ongoing issue that in order to beat the Sierra Club cannot just do on their own, but they need the help of everyone. By making a change in your life you will be positively changing the future of our world.