THE GIG: I am an intern at the office of the president and CEO at NYSERDA, which directly reports to the governor’s office. I make sure the office runs smoothly and some people call me the special advisory intern. I started in June and recently got a return offer to continue in the fall. It’s turned into an almost six month internship now. And I found out about the position through Wagner’s job portal!
DAILY ROUTINE: I submit hot topics like news articles to the governor’s office. I also oversee travel requests and send them to President and CEO Doreen Harris. Right now, we are doing mid-year evaluations. I’ve put together an analytics report on how to measure milestones people wanted to accomplish. Additionally, I have helped compile calendars from different departments to see how they intersect and to ensure that we are aware of key goals. I’m also part of the panelists for interviewing new candidates for my team. That has been interesting since I get to review candidates’ resumes and cover letters. Being on the other side of the interview process makes you learn how to interview better. Finally, I also put together reports like policy briefings. I am doing a lot of stuff!
SKILLS: I was pretty good at multitasking before because I did a lot of different things as an undergrad at NYU, but I think doing it outside of the comfort of a university setting and with new managers has taught me how to multitask better and be more detail-oriented. Now that I am helping with interviews for real positions where the person is getting paid, it’s getting real!
I have also learned more about developing policy, understanding and briefing within climate space. As a math major during undergraduate at NYU, I only took one climate class and I had no idea about climate policies.
