This summer, I had the great opportunity to intern at an environmental consulting firm in my home state of Colorado. During the internship, I was able to travel for clients in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia and take over 300 soil samples on 150 miles of oil and gas pipeline right-of-way. Consulting work had always been discussed in my classes at K-State as a potential career path and it seemed like something I would enjoy but I didn’t know for sure until I got to experience it for myself.

“Every experience in your life is being orchestrated to teach you something you need to know to move forward.” –Brian Tracy

My point is – you will never know how you feel about a future career if you don’t have the opportunity to try it. Internships are an amazing way to test different jobs before you decide a career post-graduation. I would suggest that underclassmen utilize their summers to explore potential jobs in this way.

This semester I have started to apply for soil and environmental consulting jobs all over the country. However, I am focusing on firms that have either agricultural or municipal clients as opposed to clients in the oil and gas industry. I would have never been able to make this decision without my experience this summer because I was able to find my love for consulting work as well as narrow down my ideal client base.

“Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it.” –Katherine Whitehorn

I look forward to starting my professional career after graduation in May and am grateful for my internship this summer for leading me in the right direction.

In Sisterhood,

Tessa Zee