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Betsy and Jesse Fink Career Development Program

The award-winning Betsy and Jesse Fink Career Development Program is intended to promote the career and professional development of students at ESF and are made possible by the generous donations of alumni and supporters of the college, who are committed to solving environmental challenges and supporting students who strive to do the same. 

ESF student Conner Grant monitors the status of Sweden’s fishery resources at his internship in Öregrund, Sweden.

Career Fellowships

Supporting internships and independent exploration for undergraduate and graduate students. These Fellowships are made possible by the generous donations of ESF alumni and supporters who are committed to solving environmental challenges and supporting students who strive to do the same. 

Previously funded experiences: 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024

Eligibility

Career Fellowships provide financial support to undergraduate and graduate students who:

  • Have completed at least one full semester at ESF by the time of their experience (first semester students can apply)
  • Are full-time during the time of their application
  • Will be returning to campus for at least one full-time semester, full-time after the experience
  • Are in good academic standing during the application process and beginning of the experience 

Amount of Support

The Career Fellowships process provides funding to students based on merit and identified need. Support will vary depending on the proposed experience. Awards can range, but typically cap at $6,000.

Which application track is right for me?

Below are three application options to decide which your experience aligns best with. You can always meet with Career Services or attend an information session to further discuss your ideas and seek recommendations on which application would be best to use. 

Internship Track
This provides a stipend (hourly payment) for students wishing to complete an unpaid internship in collaboration with a host organization. Students work directly with host sites to determine when the internship will be completed and what will be done. 

Independent Exploration Track
This supplies financial assistance for students looking to create or complete an independent or group project. This application is broad by nature to encompass entrepreneurial endeavors, multi-disciplinary group competitions, professional development workshops, student experiences that are not internships, and more.

Climate Science Focus
We are excited to announce a new funding opportunity for 2025, specifically designed for students interested in pursuing internships or independent projects with a direct focus on climate science. This funding is aimed at supporting students in initiatives that explore the most pressing environmental challenges related to climate change.

The Wild Center (TWC) Fellowships
**NOTE: The application deadline for this track is Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 11:59pm! The Wild Center (TWC) hosts two interns for 10-weeks working at The Wild Center and in coordination with Nature Conservancy (TNC) staff in the heart of New York State’s Adirondack region. The goal of these positions is to gather resources for current and future use, work with TWC and TNC to develop interpretive public programming and lead outdoor programs at TWC and at the Follensby Preserve.  This early-stage program development will be an important component supporting future programming taking place on this globally significant property managed by the Nature Conservancy.  Interns will receive a broad range of museum experiences, develop natural history and identification knowledge, and create and deliver outdoor citizen/community science experiences. Interns will engage the public in our museum, on our trails and offer interpretive experiences to visitors through informal conversations, thematic activity carts, and more. 

Background: In the spring of ‘24 the Nature Conservancy announced the first-of-its-kind freshwater research preserve to advance shared knowledge of freshwater ecosystems. The Wild Center is a partner providing public access to the property through guided interpretive excursions. More information about The Nature Conservancy’s Follensby Freshwater Preserve can be found online.

Previously funded experiences:  2021 |  2022 |  2023 | 2024

How do I apply?

The application process is during the spring semester. Required materials will include:

What should I include in my proposal?

Internship Track:
In a maximum of 1 page, provide an introduction to your internship and why it is important to your career development. Be sure to include: 

  • Background of your interest in this position/organization, including how it will benefit your academic and career development
  • Goals of internship
  • What you're proposing to do and the impact it will have
  • Why you need funding from the Career Fellowships 

Independent Exploration Track:
In a maximum of 1 page, provide an introduction to your independent exploration experience and why it is important to your career development. Be sure to include: 

  • Background of your interest in this independent exploration experience, including how it will benefit your academic and career development
  • Goals of the experience
  • What you're proposing to do and the impact it will have
  • Why you need funding from the Career Fellowships 

Climate Science Focus:
In a maximum of 2 pages, provide an introduction to your internship or project, and why it is important to your career development. Be sure to include:

  • Connection to Climate Action:
    • Explain how your project or internship aligns with key climate action goals (such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting ecosystems, or advancing renewable energy technologies).
    • Demonstrate how the project can have a measurable impact on climate mitigation or adaptation efforts.
  • Focus Areas:
    • Projects could focus on topics like carbon sequestrationsustainable land managementrenewable energyclimate policycommunity resilience, or environmental justice as it relates to climate change.
    • Proposals should describe in detail the specific area of climate science that will be addressed, including scientific, technical, or policy-related components.
  • Project Impacts:
    • Articulate the broader impacts of your project or internship on climate science, whether through researchcommunity engagement, or innovation.
    • How will your work contribute to sustainable solutions or increase awareness and resilience in communities or ecosystems affected by climate change?
  • Interdisciplinary Approach:
    • Projects can be interdisciplinary, combining social justiceengineeringnatural resource management, or public health approaches with a climate science lens.
    • If applicable, outline any collaborations with local communities, nonprofits, or industry partners that help address the broader effects of climate change.
  • Why do you need funding from the Career Fellowships?

The Wild Center (TWC) Fellowships:
Please be sure to write this proposal in cover letter format. In a maximum of 1 page, provide details on the importance of this internship on your career development and what you will bring to the organization. Be sure to include:

  • The impact the experience will have on you academically and professionally.
  • Showcase the skills, knowledge, and past experiences you will bring to TWC. 
  • Highlight how this experience connects to and will help you achieve your professional ambitions/career goals.

What is the timeline of the process?

Late Fall 2024 – Early Spring 2025

Application Opens

Early Spring 2025

Information sessions begin (exact dates will be on Handshake)

Sunday, March 23, 2025 at 11:59pm

Applications Due

Early April 2025

Decisions released via email; appointments for paperwork to be completed

Late May 2025

Funds released

August 22, 2025

Final reports due to Career Services

 

Final Reports and Additional Commitments

ESF Career Fellows must a final report to the Office of Career Services at the end of the summer, approximately 3-5 pages. Pictures, videos, blogs, and other forms of media produced during the experience will also be requested.

Returning Fellows will also be asked to serve as representatives at on-campus events and at future information sessions depending on their schedule and availability.

 

Regional Internship Program

This is a summer internship program that connects ESF students with local employers for paid opportunities.

2025 Regional Internship Sites

Career Services is excited to partner with three local non-profits/government agencies to provide four (4) internships for summer 2025:

Past hosts of Regional Interns have included:

  • Baltimore Woods Nature Center
  • Beaver Lake Nature Center
  • Brady Farm
  • CNY Land Trust
  • Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology (MOST)
  • Murphy Forest Management, LLC
  • NYS Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
  • OCRRA - Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency
  • Onondaga Earth Corps
  • Onondaga Earth Institute
  • PEACE, Inc. (Dept. of Energy and Housing)
  • Skaneateles Lake Association
  • Upstate Freshwater Institute

Eligibility

Undergraduate and graduate students who:

  • Completed at least one full semester at ESF by the time of their experience (first semester students can apply);
  • Are in good standing (academic and conduct) with the College;
  • Will return to campus for at least one semester following the experience

Each organization also has specific qualifications; students must confirm they meet these before submitting an application. 

How do I apply?

Students will review internship position descriptions and apply to the position(s) of interest. If you are interested in more than one internship opportunity, you must complete separate applications. However, students will NOT be funded for an internship at more than one site.

Complete applications will include:

  • Completed application (MS Forms; login with your @esf.edu credentials)
  • Cover letter
  • Resume/CV

This is a competitive internship program, and it is REQUIRED that Career Services reviews your application materials (resume and cover letter(s)) before final submission. This can be emailed to careers@esf.edu for review or via an appointment with a Peer Career Ambassador/Professional Staff member. Applications that are submitted without this occurring will not be moved forward in the selection process.

Select students will complete an interview with the organization(s); some will be on-site while others are virtual.

The process is mutual selection; students must be both selected by the organization and by the Committee. 

What is the timeline of the process?

January 2025

Application Opens

Early Spring 2025

Information sessions begin (exact dates will be on Handshake)

Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 11:59pm

Applications Due

March 5-25, 2025

Select students will complete an interview with organization(s); some will be on-site while others will be virtual

Late March/Early April 2025

Regional Interns will be notified of their selection and paperwork process will be completed in Career Services

Late May 2025

Funds released

August 22, 2025

Final reports due to Career Services

Internship Funding

Students who are mutually selected by the organization and the committee will be funded for a $5,000 stipend.

Final Reports and Additional Commitments

ESF Regional Interns must a final report to the Office of Career Services at the end of the summer, approximately 3-5 pages. Pictures, videos, blogs, and other forms of media produced during the experience will also be requested.

Returning Regional Interns will also be asked to serve as representatives at on-campus events and at future information sessions depending on their schedule and availability.

 

Thomas Slocum Career Advancement Award

The Thomas Slocum Career Advancement Award has been created from the Betsy and Jesse Fink Career Development Program and will provide one graduating senior (May) with a $2,500 award to assist with job travel related to interviews, relocation expenses, building a professional clothing closet, and more.

Thomas Slocum served ESF from 1977 to 2008 as the Director of Career and Counseling Services. This award has been created to honor the support Tom showed to Jesse in making possible his attendance at a job interview that helped launch his professional career. This award will be given to students who embody this career readiness spirit and would benefit from the jumpstart this award would provide. 

Meredith Preve

Meredith Preve '25
During the first spring of the pandemic, I gained employment at a local greenhouse and nursery. There I experienced what I feel I can only fairly call an awakening to the other life forms around me; the shimmering curl of a new monstera leaf, the first burst bud of vibrant purple aster, and the evergreen cologne always wafting from the conifer branches. In all their various arrangements, I fell headfirst in love with plants. With the help of my brilliant and supportive mentors, I’ve been so lucky to refine my passion for overlooked organisms and commit my life to their protection and advocacy. A conservation biologist often works in chaos, bringing warring factions together, embracing interdisciplinary principles, and stitching together iterative harmonies of the human and nonhuman. This is the kind of ground I want to break. I’m endeavoring to have gained a spot in a Ph.D. or Master’s program in Botany that overlaps with conservation-based institutions, like natural history museums and botanical gardens.

Zachary Mills

Zachary Mills '24
My career goals are influenced by my past opportunities, specifically when I researched red mangroves in Bacalar, Mexico last summer. There, I had the opportunity to teach elementary, high school, and university students about my mangrove research and their impact on the environment. Bacalar’s citizens were extraordinarily impactful in changing my goals; I now aspire to work with communities suffering from adverse effects of climate change via conservation and interdisciplinary efforts between scientists, politicians, and, most importantly, the general public. Towards this end, I believe exploring international work will help me build connections and have a wider reach, and I was recently chosen for a master’s program in southern France.

Sarah Crane '23

Sarah Crane, ’23
Growing up I saw the impacts of water scarcity on my community. I lived with well water that was deemed undrinkable because of agricultural runoff, which caused high nitrate concentrations. Anthropogenic impacts on water have denied my family and others in my community the right to clean drinking water. Observing this throughout my life has made me want to learn how to protect our water resources while we still can. After graduating from ESF, I plan to attend graduate school for my Ph.D. in chemistry. My hope is to be able to quantify the impact that humans are having on our water supply, which in turn can be used in the creation of regulations that would help to protect this scarce resource.

Emily Li '22

Emily Li, ’22
Born and raised in NYC, I studied the ebbs and flows of neighborhoods across the city, from the growing Asian populations in Brooklyn and Queens to the dwindling lines of Chinatown in Manhattan. I didn’t have the vocabulary until now to realize the gentrification of urban communities and the displacement of minority neighborhoods across cities in the US. The culmination of these growing concerns led me to my career path in community planning, focusing on environmental justice communities. My plan post-graduation is to move to an urban center and obtain a job in community planning with a non-profit or in local government.