Studying natural and political environments
Jennifer Loveland-Rose ’20 explores environmental consulting in Bahrain
Internship supported by: Talanian Work and Learning Fellowship
Student majors: Environmental science and international relations
Learning goals. “I am interested in the intersection of natural and social sciences. I believe that preserving the environment should be our priority. So, for my internship I was looking for a company or organization where I could learn how to write environmental reports and recommendations for sustainability. I looked specifically for internships in Bahrain, as it is where I was born and lived my whole life until coming to Wheaton.”
A well-rounded experience. “The team at Environment Arabia made an effort to provide me with a comprehensive view of all the work they do at the agency. I went out to collect water samples by boat for total suspended solid (TSS) sampling at land reclamation sites, attended site audits for construction projects, collected data for land use surveys for roadway expansions, learned about geographic mapping software (GIS) and how to write reports to both clients and the relevant government agencies.”
Full immersion. “On my second day I went to do a land use survey with the GIS specialist for a potential metro network in the country’s capital. Without knowing anything about land use surveying, I became the navigator, note taker, took photographs and recorded the gps coordinates. I felt quite overwhelmed and challenged by the amount of multitasking that was required. However, I really appreciated being completely thrown in, and being actively included in the actual data collection for this report.”
Open water exchange. “While doing TSS Sampling, the boat captain, Jaffer, asked me if I wanted to see ‘gub-gub,’ which means ‘crab’ in Arabic. We pulled right up to a small boat and Jaffer asked the fisherman for two crabs, which we exchanged for Fanta strawberry soda and some bottles of water. We thanked them and continued back to the harbor. The next day we got 12 oysters from a pearl diver, but unfortunately there weren’t any pearls!”
Classroom connections. “During the previous semester I completed a connection called ‘Politics and Global Change,’ which is comprised of an international politics course required for my international relations major and a geology course required for my environmental science major. Taking these two courses during the same semester really spurred my interest in pursuing a career path that blends disciplines. Environment Arabia, as a consultancy firm that both carries out field research, as well as suggests policies for companies, has provided me with an example of how the my two majors can intertwine outside of the academic setting.”