March 22, 2015 marked the one year anniversary of the SR 530 Landslide. During the year, WSU Extension continued to work side‐by-side with communities in Snohomish County on long-term recovery. For a second summer in a row, WSU sponsored paid student internships to assist Arlington and Darrington with a wide range of projects.
“Coming into this experience, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my degree,” one student commented. “Now, I am not only very clear, but I have developed skills and learned to be a leader, all while having the best summer and helping my home town.”
Working with the affected communities taught students about the nature of stress and trauma on individuals and communities as well as understanding what it takes to be resilient.
The internship experience has influenced how students are designing their academic and professional futures, according to exit interviews. Students have shared that the experience opened their eyes to different avenues, exposing them to career options, connecting their studies to real life applications, guiding their academic choices and helping them develop new skills that are applicable in the classroom as well as in future jobs.
All fourteen student interns, including six who were part of the previous year’s program, were from Arlington and Darrington. The students’ eagerness to help out in their communities resonates through one student’s reflection: “I loved being involved in my town and I am now more passionate about my community.”
The projects were based on community needs and were matched to the backgrounds and interests of the selected WSU students. Students worked on projects that included engaging teens in a Summer Youth Forestry Institute, providing nutrition and STEM education for youth and creating economic development strategies. They assisted the Fire Department, Engineering Department, Police Department and Natural Resources Department in Arlington with numerous projects. They also helped with public relations, communications and community events, and did the legwork needed for a new park in Darrington.
This SR 530 Summer Internship Program is a project of the CAHNRS/Extension SR 530 Mudslide Team that was created by the late President Elson S. Floyd to assist impacted communities after the landslide.
Written August 2015 by Phyllis Shulman, Special Projects Manager and Curt Moulton, County Director, WSU Extension.