Internships |
Student Internships
Energize Colleges internships are designed in collaboration with higher education campuses to empower current students with a deep understanding of energy, climate change, and sustainability challenges and solutions through hands-on, experiential learning.
As the employer of record, SEI manages all HR-related tasks, freeing host campuses to focus on the intern’s impact on campus sustainability goals and initiatives. Intern and site supervisor orientations, topic-specific training, and professional development combine to maximize the internship experience to prepare students to become change leaders in their chosen profession.
College of the Canyons Building Energy Model Interns Improve Campus Efficiency
Kathlynn & Kenya collect and log energy data for the University Center Building at the College of the Canyons.
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Utilizing the campus as a living lab, College of the Canyons interns, Kathlynn Allen and Kenya Arellano, studied the energy performance of the College of the Canyons University Center (UCEN) in Santa Clarita, California.
We collected information about the building’s current condition to create a Building Energy Model (BEM). This helped us analyze how the building uses energy and ways to improve efficiency, especially in areas like the exterior walls, lighting, and HVAC system, to meet or exceed California Energy Code standards." My ultimate goal for this internship is to develop my skills in Integrated Environmental Solutions Virtual Environment (IESVE) and Revit, a Building Information Modeling (BIM) software. These are huge tools that will be used often in my career." |
Energy Reduction Competition at California State University, Monterey Bay
I led an energy reduction competition for students living in campus housing at the university. After extensive research and planning, I launched the campaign with tabling events, dorm door flyers, and classroom visits, encouraging student participation through friendly competition and an ice cream social prize. I have enjoyed talking with many people and learning about energy at my university. I researched where our energy comes from, how the university is approaching sustainability, and I learned a lot about outreach and promotion. It has been lots of learning and having conversations, which are two things I am already passionate about. In regard to the climate crisis, it's easy and natural to feel overwhelmed, scared, and hopeless. I feel like my job is helping people take some small first steps to think about change in a positive and uplifting way. In just the first week of our energy competition, two of the residence halls reduced their energy usage by more than 10%! Except for one residence hall, every single building reduced its energy usage, which includes over 90% of students living on the main campus!" |
Eric discusses energy reduction competition with CSUMB students.
Eric shares information about residential hall energy reduction competition.
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Malina Wong, a student intern at California State University, Monterey Bay, built on Eric’s initial internship project and led the energy reduction competition for the second consecutive year across student residence halls. She presented the competition to all residential advisors to increase student engagement.
 Malina Wong presents to residential advisors about the energy reduction competition.
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I am looking forward to sharing weekly leaderboards and hopefully putting a creative twist on the friendly competition. I hope to establish this as a larger part of our campus community as an annual competition. This is the second year we are hosting this competition, so outreach is something we have learned from last year. By running this electricity competition and spreading awareness on how to participate in electricity reduction, we are progressing our campus's carbon neutrality goal. This competition also initiates for students to use LED lightbulbs, and learn to be conscious about where our energy comes from on campus." |
Sustainability Leaders Built at Mt. San Antonio College
Student Intern, Grecia Sanchez Arrendondo, presented at the C3CONVERGE Conference with representatives from Mt. San Antonio College and SEI.
Grecia participated in a panel presentation with fellow student leaders and mentors at the C3Converge Conference, "a national convening that highlights the critical roles of community colleges in addressing climate challenges."
Being an intern with the SEI program was one of the most valuable experiences in my professional and personal journey. As an Environmental Engineering student, it gave me the opportunity to work on a project that included learning about sustainability projects, data analysis, and carbon reduction strategies. I also gained insight about how different departments on campus manage their utility consumption and learned how to use tools like GRITS and SIMAP, which allow me to see the carbon footprint of the campus each year. Overall, this experience showed me that I can contribute to the amazing initiatives at the college, and it has inspired me to continue to expand my knowledge in sustainability and the energy field to create sustainable and resilient environments for people."
— Grecia Sanchez Arrendondo, Student Intern at Mt. San Antonio College
I feel very fortunate to have worked with Grecia Sánchez Arredondo. Any organization would be lucky to have her on their team. Through her work with Strategic Energy Innovations, she supported our campus greenhouse gas inventory, strengthening her skills in data analysis, GHG accounting, and sustainability planning. Already highly capable, this experience further elevated her technical expertise and confidence."
— Eera Babtiwale, Special Projects Director, Sustainability Facilities Planning & Management, Mt. San Antonio College
Grecia's impact was so significant that the college hired her to lead their GHG Inventory — collecting critical data on electricity, natural gas, and Scope 1-3 emissions to shape the campus carbon footprint!
Tyler Moe measures the cross-sectional area of the campus creek to determine hydroelectric generator production.
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California State University, Chico, Internship Inspires Future Career PlansInterning through SEI has allowed me to dive deeper into critical sustainability topics. Applying this knowledge to my future career in construction management feels empowering; I now feel prepared to make a real impact. Plus, I also discovered a new passion for writing. It's been an incredible experience overall!" |
California State University, Fresno, Interns Expand Campus Energy Outreach
Fresno State’s Sustainability Analyst, Feng Teter, inspired me to join this program! I aimed to promote sustainability and efficiency on campus and in the community while improving my public speaking and graphic design skills. Working with another SEI Intern, Galilea Ramirez, on projects and outreach events has been incredibly rewarding, allowing me to think collaboratively, coordinate events, and create infographics." It has been extremely rewarding to see my SEI interns develop over the semester. They had no prior knowledge of the various energy-related initiatives on our campus, and I got to introduce them to the projects and staff on campus responsible for maintaining those projects. I allowed them to choose the direction of their educational materials, within a structured set of options, because I believe personal interest and enthusiasm drive student success more than any predetermined project I could've placed them on." |
Bailey (left) and Galilea (right) educate the campus community about Fresno State's Central Utility Plant project and its energy efficiency benefits.
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Real Change Starts with Student Innovation!
California State University, Chico, made headlines for a new initiative to consolidate evening classes — a move that could save the university thousands of dollars in energy costs. This move was sparked by research conducted by Green Campus Energy Conservation Coordinator Truman Smith, an Energize Colleges intern.
The impact of this program goes beyond the bottom line; it’s shaping the next generation of energy leaders. Since 2022, Marie Patterson has hosted interns through Energize Colleges. These student-led research projects provided the data and momentum needed to launch this campus-wide energy initiative.
Truman Smith shared that this internship provided him with a chance to develop energy knowledge and professional skills. "Getting the opportunity to do work that has a direct impact on my college and community is truly fantastic, and this work inspires me to continue on in an energy-related field," said Smith.
Marie Patterson, Internship Supervisor, noted how this internship "helped supplement a summer project that would not have ordinarily been completed." Patterson shared: "It provided me an enthusiastic student to help research the important topic of building consolidation of night classes... it was an instrumental first step to conserve energy at night."
We are proud to see how these internships are bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world environmental solutions!
Read more about the initiative here.
The impact of this program goes beyond the bottom line; it’s shaping the next generation of energy leaders. Since 2022, Marie Patterson has hosted interns through Energize Colleges. These student-led research projects provided the data and momentum needed to launch this campus-wide energy initiative.
Truman Smith shared that this internship provided him with a chance to develop energy knowledge and professional skills. "Getting the opportunity to do work that has a direct impact on my college and community is truly fantastic, and this work inspires me to continue on in an energy-related field," said Smith.
Marie Patterson, Internship Supervisor, noted how this internship "helped supplement a summer project that would not have ordinarily been completed." Patterson shared: "It provided me an enthusiastic student to help research the important topic of building consolidation of night classes... it was an instrumental first step to conserve energy at night."
We are proud to see how these internships are bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world environmental solutions!
Read more about the initiative here.
