Community Engaged Internship Program

 

Community Engaged Internship

Baltimore Harbor Environmental Communications Intern

The summer 2026 community engaged intern will engage with scientific research and storytelling about the Baltimore Harbor environment. Using data and expert knowledge from scientists studying this area, and working in collaboration with science communicators, the intern will develop several web-based communications products informing general audiences about this unique environment. The intern will also collect and interpret videographic data from invertebrate community substrates deployed in the Baltimore Harbor as part of an international marine biodiversity project. While working on these projects, the intern will have opportunities to participate in professional development and networking activities. The intern will be based at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, with occasional visits to Maryland Sea Grant in College Park.

How to Apply

Interested students are required to submit an application through our application portal by Monday, March 30, 2026. From the landing page, or under the 'Internship' tab, choose the Community Engaged Internship position and enter or upload the requested information:  

• Applicant Information
• Personal and Career Goals Statement (up to 500 words that describes what skills and experience you will bring to the internship and how this internship will help you achieve your long-term career goals)
• Additional short answer questions
• Resume
• Transcript (unofficial undergraduate transcripts released to student acceptable, electronic PDF or hard copy)
• Example of your work

Questions? Contact Annalise Kenney at akenney@mdsg.umd.edu.

Location, Stipend, and Support

The internship will begin on June 1 and end on August 7. The intern will be based in Baltimore. The internship will be hybrid, with time spent onsite at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, working remotely, and occasionally visiting the Maryland Sea Grant office in College Park, Maryland. The 10-week internship includes a stipend of $6,000. 

Eligibility

You must be a current undergraduate from a Maryland or District of Columbia college or university seeking a degree in natural, social, or environmental sciences, environmental policy, or communications/writing fields. 

Networking and Professional Development

This internship will include professional development opportunities to expose the participants to career opportunities throughout the internship period. The Community Engaged Internship program is a national program across the Sea Grant network. Professional development and networking opportunities will be available from this program, including networking sessions connecting Sea Grant interns across the country. 

About the Community Engaged Internship Program

The overarching goal of this internship program is to broaden participation in marine and coastal professions by providing training and mentorship to the next generation of scientists, decision makers and citizens. The program will do so by recruiting, retaining and engaging students in place-based research, extension, education and/or communication projects.

Previous Interns

Ariana Strasser-King

Ariana Strasser-King, an undergraduate from Johns Hopkins University, joined Maryland Sea Grant as a community engaged intern in 2025. She worked with the University of Maryland Sea Grant Extension Program on several projects. Working with the Watershed Stewards Academy, she worked to develop a framework for and draft a new environmental justice module to educate stewards. Ariana is majoring in Environmental Studies and Public Health. She is from Prince George's County, Maryland, and is passionate about partnering with communities to address environmental health disparities and strengthen their resiliency. Read Ariana's reflection on her experience as a community engaged intern.

Sydney Sauls

Sydney Sauls, an undergraduate from Howard University, joined Maryland Sea Grant as a summer community engaged science communication intern in 2024. Originally from Baltimore, she's passionate about urban ecology and environmental justice, aiming to mitigate food deserts in urban areas. Sydney worked with the communications team on the fall 2024 issue of Chesapeake Quarterly magazine about blue catfish. She completed a literature review, carried out interviews, and conceptualized and storyboarded a comic illustrating the effects of aquatic invasive species on ecosystems. Sydney also contributed to On the Bay blog, publishing a reflection on her journey in science and a profile on MDSG's aquaculture projects specialist and a major aquaculture siting project.

Ashton Guildener

Ashton Guildener, an undergraduate from University of Maryland, College Park, joined Maryland Sea Grant as a summer science communication and outreach intern in 2022. They shot video for a video/multimedia project with our education department. Ashton, an environmental science and policy major, also wrote a blog post and interviewed MDSG's Knauss fellows. The communications team used this material to put together a multimedia piece on our social media channels.

Yazan Hasan

Yazan Hasan, an undergraduate from University of Maryland, College Park, joined Maryland Sea Grant as a summer science communication and outreach intern in 2021. He completed the internship virtually for the first part of the summer, then did some shooting in the field for his video project for the final two weeks of the program. Yazan, an environmental science and technology major, assisted the MDSG communication and education teams with photography needs, social media campaigns, and multimedia education content. He also wrote a blog post and researched and shot a series of videos on the impacts of salt water intrusion on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, which can be viewed below. See some of his other work completed during his internship on this online portfolio.

Logan Bilbrough

Logan Bilbrough, an undergraduate from Salisbury University, joined Maryland Sea Grant as a summer multimedia intern in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He completed the internship remotely via teleconference and carefully planned socially distanced shoots, assisting with photography needs, social media campaigns, and video production. He also wrote a blog post and researched and shot a film on a community restoration project in the the town of Templeville, Maryland, which can be viewed below. See some of his other work completed during his internship on this online portfolio.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact:

Annalise Kenney
Assistant Director for Communications

Maryland Sea Grant College
5825 University Research Court, Suite 1350
College Park, Maryland 20740
E-mail: akenney@mdsg.umd.edu