F&M Stories

Where Does the Environment Meet Policy? In This F&M Senior's Internship

This story is part of our #FandMForward series documenting our students' and recent grads' resilience, adaptability and perseverance in navigating the obstacles that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented.

As a dual major in environmental studies and public policy, an internship involving environmental policy seemed serendipitous for senior Lauren Costabile.

"This opportunity was right up my alley," she said.

That opportunity was with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), a nonprofit organization headquartered in Annapolis, Md., devoted to the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay. Costabile was to work at the Harrisburg, Pa., branch; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person opportunity was moved online.

"CBF did a fantastic job helping me feel welcomed and a part of the team even though we were working remotely," she said.

As a legal intern, Costabile completed research to support future policy initiatives. Her favorite part of the internship was working on mitigating pollution from agriculture, an area she said she always found fascinating.

Costabile said F&M classes such as ENE 216: Environmental Policy, GOV 200: Understanding Public Policy, and ENE 314 / GOV 374: Global Environmental Politics helped develop her skills in writing and assessing policy as well as engaging in conversations about the environment on national and global scales.

The Office of Student and Post-Graduate Development (OSPGD) was a helpful resource, as well. Costabile discovered this internship opportunity through an OSPGD contact and also met with Ashley Fry, student development adviser, who helped her assess additional opportunities and prepare for interviews.

With graduation on the horizon, Costabile's vision of her career plans is becoming clearer due to her F&M and CBF experiences.

"I feel proud working for an organization that has ignited so much change," she said. "I can definitely see myself working in this field of environmental nonprofits."

 

Related Articles

August 21, 2025

Darij Kulchyckyj ’24 Maps Blueprint for Success

Darij Kulchyckyj ’24 wanted to merge his passions for math, music and the environment. F&M’s liberal arts approach helped him do just that. Now an environmental consultant at an engineering firm, Kulchyckyj also hit a major milestone in his music career thanks to a grant from F&M.

August 15, 2025

Exploring Ancient Worlds to Shape Her Future

Navigating career exploration with courage and curiosity — that’s the Diplomat way. This summer, Katherine Briggs ’26 dove into her zeal for classical archaeology by interning at the Near Eastern Collections, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

August 11, 2025

Connecting Classroom Theory to Behavioral Reality in a Yale Laboratory

Noah Katzer ’26 has added a new skill and experience to an already impressive list of accomplishments: he spent part of his summer interning at the Emotion Health and Psychophysiology Lab at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. “I've learned new research methods and gained insight into new subsections of psychology,” he says.