Internships

Nicole Zenes ’15

This summer I worked with the DRN monitoring the construction of a natural gas pipeline by Tennessee Gas Company (TGP). My father works as an environmental scientist for DRN and I joined his project of monitoring the work done by TGP, making sure they followed proper environmental regulations. Almost daily visits were required to different locations on the pipeline; we mainly focused on sites along a 12-mile section. We documented violations when they were discovered. I was required to write official reports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection that described my findings. This internship also offered opportunities to network and attend larger conferences. I gave a presentation at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia detailing the work I had done over the summer. I also helped to develop a program to train local volunteers as watchdogs to help monitor pipelines being constructed elsewhere. While this was an extremely rewarding experience, I realized that I want to focus more on marine biology and research as a career instead of public outreach and environmentalism.