The Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now recruiting high school students for its summer internship program for 2008. The program is made possible through a 3-year, $138,600 grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund to Friends of the Smokies, a non-profit organization that supports conservation, education, and other Park priorities.
The goal of the grant is to provide students with opportunities that encourage them to consider careers in the sciences and medicine. Since 2003, 57 students from Swain, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, and other North Carolina counties have held internships. Interns in 2008 will be working under a partnership with the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont.
The internships are paid, part-time positions that will in most cases be working directly under the supervision of Park staff, scientists or graduate students from universities, including Mississippi State University and North Carolina State University. They will work on projects that include:
• studying the effects of acid deposition on bird reproduction
• studying the potential causes of rhododendron dieback in the Smokies
• monitoring salamander populations and effects of ozone on native plants
New this year is an additional position that will work out of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center assisting with visitor orientation, Junior Ranger programs for children and farm demonstrations.
Several of the internship positions will be based out of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center area of the Park (Swain County), one position will be on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville and two positions at the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Haywood County.
Hours of work will vary from week to week but should total at least 200 hours by the end of the summer. All positions pay $7.50 per hour. Benefits include experience with research methods, working with and learning from professional scientists, letters of recommendation, and being part of scientific discoveries. Work will likely start sometime in early June (depending on the last day of school).
Interested students should be 16 years of age or older by May 31, 2008, and be currently enrolled in a North Carolina high school. To apply, students are required to send a resume that includes a phone number of one reference, as well as a cover letter explaining why this job would be good for you and why you would be good for the job. All applications must be postmarked by March 21, 2008, and sent to: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, P.O. Box 357, Lake Junaluska, N.C. 28745. For more information, please visit http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/rlc-research.htm or call the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at (828) 926-6251.
Based in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) is an independent, non-profit foundation that supports research, scientific and educational activities. Founded in 1955, the BWF makes approximately $35 million in grants annually. The grant was provided to Friends of the Smokies and is part of the fund’s Student Science Enrichment Program, which supports creative science education for middle and high school students in North Carolina. The Great Smoky Mountains Institute provides in-depth experiences through educational programs designed to nurture appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, celebrate diversity, and foster stewardship.
