By Emily Millar
This week concludes my 10-week stint as the Lone Star Chapter’s Environmental Communications Intern. There has been a lot of laughs, a few tears, and a whole lot of learning along the way, and it has been worth every minute of it.
The Laughs
This place is loaded with talent in two arenas: environmental knowledge and comedy. From my first day in the office it was evident that everyone here genuinely gets along and they have a blast doing so. It became apparent early on that if I wanted to fit in I was going to have to prove myself by telling a perfectly timed joke and when my moment of truth bared itself I was rewarded with hearty laughs cementing my legitimacy. (No word yet on if the laughs were fake.) [Editor’s note: they were real.] In short, what I’m trying to say is that the people here in the Lone Star Chapter office love what they do and love each other, when those two things fall into place you can’t help but have fun.
The Tears
This section can be divided into two subcategories: tears from laughter and tears from news gathering. As far as tears from laughter goes, see above, but in regards to the latter I will explain below.
It all began a few weeks after my first day when it was decided I would take over the responsibility of compiling news stories each morning for social media. At least in the beginning, I thought I was not very good at it. After a few days of constructive criticism and attempted improvements, I hit a paywall and an emotional one, but I got the hang of what news stories were relevant and worth pulling and the tears stopped!… Sort of. The problems our state faces are huge and it can be pretty depressing to track every day. The Sierra Club strives to raise awareness of issues across the state, such as The DPS oil spill photo debacle, LNG in the RGV, and tons of local environmental issues that affect people from Houston to El Paso.
The Learning
Before coming aboard as the environmental communications intern at the Lone Star Chapter, I had never held an office job. I had no idea what to expect in terms of workplace etiquette and behavior and I was definitely nervous about making a fool out of myself, which I actually did on my first day but that’s another story for another time. Throughout my time here I have been given the opportunity to write and post seven blogs for the website, participate in creative development for an awesome water quiz, attend a protest, hearing, and press conference at TCEQ headquarters, work with members from the water, energy, and Beyond Coal teams, and manage content for the chapter website. I have also learned about the unique triumphs we win despite living in a state so heavily influcenced by polluting interests, and the challenges nonprofits face as they navigate the waters of 501c3 and 501c4 regulations while standing up to heavily bankrolled adversaries. This experience also increased my understanding of environmental and social justice issues, and helped me grow more confident in my own ideas, intelligence, and abilities.
The End
While my time at the Sierra Club has come to an end, I know that I’ve gained knowledge, such as how to frame an issue and pick out bias, and relationships that will last the span of my career. It hasn’t all been good, of course, see “The Tears,” but for the most part I have loved every minute of my time spent here. Lastly, I want to say thank you to the Lone Star Chapter for welcoming me into their office, their meetings, and their lives--this summer has been one that I will never forget!