Climate Action
Introducing the Spring 2025 EARTHDAY.ORG Writing Interns
January 24, 2025
In October 2021, I was given the opportunity to manage the Internship Program here at EARTHDAY.ORG and, for the past 9 semesters, I’ve had the privilege of ushering over 150 interns through experiential learning positions from universities all over the world. From articles to prize nominations, our interns support the critical work that makes Earth Day, every day.
I’m so excited for our interns joining us for Spring 2025. Our full time staff is around 30, with teams in Washington, DC, India, Brazil, and Europe, and interns are central to the global operations of all of our initiatives. Our interns help build curriculum in Climate Education, draft policies in End Plastics, perform outreach for College Campus organizing and National Campaign, as well as drive massive amounts of content for the Communications team in the form of articles, emails, research, and getting us media coverage.
I place our interns according to where I find they will fit best, leveraging programmatic and staff knowledge along with what I shall call intern intuition. I’m so good at connections that one of our Spring 2024 communications interns, Terran Fielder, is now a full-time employee.
This semester, I’m thrilled to introduce you to our cohort of writing interns, whose work you’ll see on our News and Stories page, as well as over emails.
Carly Bottita
I chose EARTHDAY.ORG for my internship because I wanted to gain hands-on professional experience while contributing to a cause I am deeply passionate about. As a writing intern, I am eager to improve my writing skills and learn how to effectively communicate the urgency of climate change in a way that inspires hope and action. My focus on the “Fashion For The Earth” campaign is particularly exciting because it allows me to expand my knowledge of sustainable fashion and craft compelling narratives that raise awareness about its importance. This internship offers the perfect opportunity to grow as a writer while aligning my work with my passion for environmental sustainability.
Harper Johnston
I applied to be a writing intern at EARTHDAY.ORG because I want to play a role in safeguarding the environment through research, education, and outreach. I grew up with a strong feeling of admiration for nature and all the organisms it hosts, without exception. As I have gotten older, my love for the environment and my passion to preserve it have only been strengthened. I chose to double major in Environmental Studies and Journalism at American University to become more knowledgeable about the environment and more qualified to write about climate issues. EARTHDAY.ORG publishes stories that make complex scientific topics understandable and intriguing to a vastly diverse global audience. EARTHDAY.ORG is committed to truth in a world littered with misinformation, to accountability in a market lacking checks and balances, to global cooperation amidst a society facing escalating geopolitical tensions. I applied to be a writing intern because my values, morals, and priorities align with EARTHDAY.ORG’s, and it is the perfect place for me to begin my career in science communications.
Harrison McCarty
I decided to apply to intern with EARTHDAY.ORG because I wanted to finally create an impact with the education I have received throughout the years. I have always been passionate about sustainability and conservation, although I never took the opportunity to take the leap and connect what I was reading and learning with actual action. Therefore, I began my search for internships with the goal of bridging the gap between theory and practice in order to develop a stronger understanding of what it looks like to work in environmental advocacy. When I came across EDO’s internship program, I was immediately drawn to the various campaigns the organization maintains and also the real impact that EDO has on college campuses across the country.
Dory Miller
As someone drawn to storytelling and environmental education, the opportunity to intern with EARTHDAY.ORG feels like a natural progression of my work within the climate activism sphere. Having followed the organization for years, I never imagined I’d have the chance to contribute to its mission through my love for writing, equipping others with the knowledge they need to enact change. Through this internship, I hope to combine my background in journalism, science communication, and youth-based environmental activism to translate complex topics into engaging and actionable content surrounding sustainability and climate solutions. I am thrilled to use writing as a means to combat climate anxiety, provide tangible action items amidst our current crisis, and instill hope so that others can begin their environmental activism journeys, all through a platform as impactful as EARTHDAY.ORG.
Parker Shabala
I chose EDO because of their longstanding commitment to activating the environmental movement worldwide. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, EDO has been one of the most successful nonprofit organizations in driving environmental awareness and advocating for meaningful change. Even with their global reach, EDO remains deeply committed to empowering individuals and grassroots organizations, ensuring that environmental change is driven from the ground up. I wanted to be part of something that valued both individual agency and community collaboration to create an environment where everyone has the power to make a difference. More than anything, EDO inspires hope, showing that when people come together, progress is possible. Being part of EDO allows me to contribute to a mission that aligns with my values and empowers me to make a tangible impact on the world.
Amina Shaw
A curiosity for how I could combine civic engagement and fashion is what led me to the EARTHDAY.ORG internship. I was shocked when I learned that fast fashion was a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and that polyester, made from crude oil, can pollute fresh water; I had no idea. Inspired by the 2024 Earth Day theme, Planet vs. Plastics, I decided to take action. I organized a clothing swap on campus to inform other students about the environmental impacts of fast fashion and plastic pollution. I wanted to do more. As an aspiring environmental communicator, the organization’s mission to “diversify, educate, and activate” the environmental movement deeply resonated with me. I realized this was the perfect platform to combine my passion for storytelling and my commitment to environmental advocacy to inspire more environmental curiosity in my own community.
Abinaya Vekatesan
Like every other person entering the job force, the internet was my best bet at finding an internship. Doom scrolling through every job search engine out there luckily landed me at earthday.org. Given my major in environmental science, protecting natural resources in every way possible comes first. We all come from different backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge to make something as simple as a pencil. It’s working together with the people as a coalition with a common goal that creates a stronger sustainable future. Lifting up the voices that have been silenced to ensure equity, balance, and progress. This is how it has worked in most historic conventions. And that’s what earthday.org does to build a better future.
