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Award Sends FSU Grad to Prague Event
Some college students see internships as a necessary evil, in order to build resumes and skills needed for their future careers.
For Florida State graduate Jasmine Washington, internships sparked personal interest and incredible opportunity.
When convinced by Professor Jerry Wekezer to apply for the Society of Wetland Scientists Undergraduate Mentoring Award, she jumped at the opportunity based on previous internship experience.
The award allows students to attend the SWS annual meeting, where wetland professionals such as scientists and management specialists gather to discuss and explore wetland conservation.
"It provided me a chance to showcase the research I had done, and gives a template for other projects," Washington said.
She will join 10 other students from the United States in attending this year's meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, where she will present a poster outlining her research. This is only the second SWS meeting to be held abroad.
Students also will have the opportunity to meet and network with professionals and explore career and postgraduate opportunities in the field.
Washington based her research on her internships with the Department of Environmental Protection.
While pursuing her bachelor's degree in civil engineering, she worked in both the land acquisition and water treatment departments, where she got to see the Kissimmee River Restoration project firsthand.
"I've seen a lot of the processes behind the restoration, so it was a continuation of things that I've already done," she said. "I had dealt with this before, so it gave me a chance to go back and see what happened to it."
Washington outlined the efforts to rebuild the natural wetland habitats in the river basin that were harmed when the river was channelized.
She originally presented the work as part of a class project for Professor Amy Chan Hilton's Introduction to Environmental Engineering course.
"Her work at DEP gave her a real-life perspective," Chan Hilton said. "She was in an environment where she got to see things that she would actually do in a professional setting."
Washington adds the award to an impressive list of achievements. She was a part of the Garnet and Gold scholar program at FSU, and was the student senate representative from the College of Engineering.
And she is dedicated to continuing with her research in her future career.
Washington currently is interning at MWH Construction, where she is part of the team working on the renovation project underway at the Thomas P. Smith Water Reclamation Facility.
"I try to be involved as much as possible and make an impact wherever I go," she said.
Read more: Award sends FSU grad to Prague event | tallahassee.com | Tallahassee Democrat
