Welcome to Our Capstone Student Spotlight!
This space celebrates the incredible journeys of our students as they transform classroom learning into real-world impact. Through internships, field studies, and capstone projects, these scholars have explored their passions, tackled complex challenges, and gained hands-on experience that prepares them for meaningful careers. Each story highlights the creativity, resilience, and dedication that define our community—offering a glimpse into the diverse ways students are shaping their futures and contributing to the world around them.
- Pitt Isotope Tracers Lab Assistant - Ella Clayton
"I have had the opportunity to be involved at the Pitt Isotope Tracers Lab as a lab assistant! We focus on biogeochemistry of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, utilizing stable isotopes to track elements through water, soils, plants, and the atmosphere. Throughout my time at the lab, I have gotten to learn about a variety of lab tools and techniques (such as microplating and harvesting bacterial cultures) to directly assist graduate students with their research. I also have gotten to go on a number of field work trips to streams, forests, and nature reserves. My connections with my labmates has also helped me to find guidance and success in my own research!"
- Intern at Beran Environmental Services - Rea Almutairi [ENVSTUD]
Rea wrote that her internship gave her "...valuable hands-on exposure to fieldwork and compliance that connected directly with what I’ve been learning in my classes, and it helped me see how environmental work is applied in real projects beyond the classroom...I had the chance to work on invasive plant management, wetland delineations, and compliance monitoring for oil and gas projects, which gave me a clear picture of how environmental consulting actually works in practice."
- National Aviary Intern - Aidan Donnellan (ENVSCI)
Aidan Donnellan got hands on horticulture experience during his internship this summer at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. He enjoyed the deep dives into horticulture specific knowledge he got and working directly in the bird habitats.
- Sustainability Intern at the Pittsburgh International Airport - Emily Greenland (ENVSTUD)
Emily Greenland was the sustainability intern at the Pittsburgh International Airport this summer. She said she did extremely hands-on and important tasks/projects while being involved in all current sustainability projects at the airport. She learned about large scale operational sustainability, airport specific operations, and did meaningful work.
- Food Studies in Italy - Rhyan Lewis (ENVSTUD)
Rhyan Lewis (ENVSTUD) went to Italy this summer with Pitt's Global Experiences Office. She said she learned so much about sustainable agriculture, farm to table traditions, and slow food movements that relate to her interests in sustainability and circular economies.
- Field Camp with Illinois State University - Allison O'Neil (GEOL)
Allison O'Neil (GEOL) did field camp this summer and reported learining a lot about geologic mapping. She would recommend it to other students because of the very knowledgeable faculty. Also, she really enjoyed the hiking component!
- Planetary Science intern at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab - Sasha Reeder (GEOL)
Sasha wrote, "I really enjoyed surrounding myself with people who are passionate about space science. We geeked out about our internship, the role models we met at NASA, and we bantered about various science topics. I also learned how to use geographic information systems (GIS) in a planetary research setting, and I learned about the different research-oriented career paths available to me."
- PLE Intern - Eve Carter (ENVSCI)
Eve Carter was the Field Technician in the Richards-Zawacki Lab at the Pymatuning Lab of Ecology this summer. Her favorite part of this experience was the nighttime field work component of catching frogs night after night. She suggests anyone interested to apply to the SURP program because it's a great opportunity for those starting out in research.
- Yellowstone Field Course - Chelsea McNeff (ENVSCI)
Chelsea said she recommends the YFC experience to other students because "... it provided a great way to have an immersive experience in environmental science and ecology. Sometimes, that can be hard in Pittsburgh, but out there, it is very easy to understand the connections between what we learn in the classroom and the natural world."
- REU at Univ of Virginia - Gavin Swope (ENVSCI)
Gavin shared, "I think the REU-style program that I was able to do over the summer provided a very in-depth and real, graduate-level experience. By this, I mean that we were able to create, complete, and present an ecological research project, giving me a true feeling of what it would be like to go to graduate school. Also, working in tandem with both Master's and PhD students, I was able to learn tons of invaluable information on what those programs are like in the environmental science field."
- Summer Intern at Unbound Glory Farm - Sarah Laus (ENVSCI)
Sarah said, "Environmental science work is tough- physical outdoor work or the mental load, but it is possible when you care...I loved my experience at the farm, but it is farmwork. I would definitely recommend the farm to anyone interested in agriculture..."
- Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research REU - Brendan Hallisey (ENVSCI)
Brendan shared, "I really enjoyed the balance of field work and lab work that we did. The research internship took place on an island off of the Georgia coast and it was a beautiful place to live and do research at...It was an awesome experience and the island itself is so unique. The research we did itself was so cool as we did a lot of work on the boat on the different water bodies around the island. The other research interns, graduate students, and researchers/professors/faculty were amazing and really fun to be around."
- Evergreen Heritage Center Intern (AmeriCorps) - Justice Combs (ENVSCI)
Justice said, "AmeriCorps was an amazing internship opportunity. My service location was at a local non-profit... I also did a few research projects as well as helping with a forestry group. Not only will my research projects be applied to the Evergreen campus, but I had the opportunity to help form the hiking trails. My internship exposed me to experiences I would not normally be a part of. I would absolutely recommend this internship to other students."