We are currently in the middle of another great summer with City Semester Pittsburgh, with six Penn State students living and learning about sustainability in the region. This semester, we have students from four different colleges, including the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Eberly College of Science, College of Arts and Architecture, and College of Agricultural Sciences. Each week, students meet at the Franco Harris Pittsburgh Center, near downtown, for a class on Urban Sustainability and then spend the rest of the week interning with a local community partner. Let’s check in with one of the students!
Name: Veronica Sciulli
Campus: Penn State Altoona
College: College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
Major: Environmental Systems Engineering
Expected Graduation: 2027
City Semester Internship: Three Rivers Waterkeeper
What is your role and what are your general responsibilities during this internship?
I worked as the Three Rivers Waterkeeper intern for Swim Guide. My main responsibilities were to go out every week and take water samples of 5 sites and test them for E.coli. I had to monitor and record this data. In addition, I would also update graphics and a spreadsheet.
What does your day-to-day look like?
Throughout the week, I went into the office for staff meetings, went sampling in the field, and recorded data and updated the Swim Guide spreadsheets. I would go to the office and gather what I needed to take water samples, and I would then leave to go to The Point, Duck Hollow, Sharpsburg Fish and Boat Ramp, Killbuck Fish and Boat Ramp, and then a rotating site that we changed every week. Once I would finish sampling and get back to the office, I would place 1mL of each sample on an R card to be placed into an incubator for 24 hours. On Friday, I would come in to take the R cards out of the incubator and count the number of E.coli colonies on each. I would then update the ongoing spreadsheets and create the Swim Guide graphic to be posted on 3RWK’s Instagram.
What has been the most interesting/your favorite part of the program so far?
My favorite thing about my internship so far has been that I have gotten to know Pittsburgh better than I ever have. I feel more comfortable driving around the city now, and I know so much about our local waterways. I also am now considering going into a nonprofit after I graduate. I enjoyed my time so much at 3RWK, and I feel like they defend the waterways in Pittsburgh extremely well.
What’s your favorite sustainability hack?
I love shopping second-hand for things. It is so much fun looking through places like Facebook marketplace, thrift stores, and flea markets for things. You can find the things you want at a cheaper price and they work just as well!
