COSC Summer Internship Leads to Cystainability

Iowa State University student Ashlee Clark

Every college student has been there, it is April and the excitement of summer hasn't hit yet because you don't have a summer job or even landed an interview. There is no light yet at the end of the tunnel. 

Then May rolls around and I am still vigorously searching for a job. After weeks of researching numerous public relations firms in Des Moines and looking for assistance in my job hunt, I came into contact with Siobhan Spain, the communications director here at COSC. I was not quite sure what COSC was, or what they stood for, but I was eager to get my foot in the door with any experience.

Siobhan gave me the opportunity to jump right in, helping to write press releases, blogs and updating COSC's social networks from time to time. I have really enjoyed the hands on work experience that I received. After about a month I realized how many people I was meeting and the doors that this internship was opening for me. 

One door in particular is my yearning to learn more about sustainability.  I look forward to conveying the knowledge I acquired this summer when back on campus. So, what better way to do so than to research, write and publish it for the students at ISU?

COSC has taught me the bulk of what I know about sustainability and there is so much more to learn. As I am running out of time in my internship, I plan to continue my quest for gaining knowledge about the green initiative. To do so, I proposed to the Daily, ISU's campus newspaper, a regular green feature section focused on campus and local sustainability. Staff was eager to embrace this new initiative.

I'm excited to announce the launch of the Daily's new special section and website called "Cystainability" coming this fall. I look forward to steering this pilot project into a reliable source and interactive forum for students and faculty. My goal for the section is to promote awareness of diverse sustainable practices that influence the way we live, learn, work and play.

With the section being a very positive outcome of my internship, I was also able to learn a lot about the Public Relations/Communications field. It is not at all what I thought it was going to be - it was better. It is fast pace and always presents something new. I learned quickly that if there are five items on the to-do list for a certain day, those five items would be taking place at the same time and would all get done. This internship was a great learning experience for me that I plan to incorporate it into my education as well as whatever job comes next.  

COSC has influenced communities across Iowa to take on a sustainable lifestyle and I look forward to bringing these principals to Iowa State.

Look for the link to Cystainability's website by the end of August!

- Ashlee Clark

Iowa State University | Journalism and Mass Communications
Iowa State Daily
Government of Student Body | Director of Public Relations