Tennessee Technological University
AC-5: Immersive Experience

Tennessee Tech offers multiple sustainability-focused immersive opportunities for students including: internships, co-ops, the Creative Inquiry Summer Experience (CISE) student research program, and the Study Abroad Program. Some sustainability dimensions in these programs include organic farming and working for Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation and various non-profit organizations.

Through the Study Abroad Office, there are many sustainability-focused immersive programs. Internships include the Amazon Conservation and Reforestation in Peru, Sea Turtle Conservation Program in Costa Rica, Eco-Agriculture in Sustainable Farming offered in both Peru and Guatemala, and Animal Care Volunteer Projects offered in Peru and Guatemala.
https://www.tntech.edu/studyabroad/planning/volunteer/index.php

The School of Environmental Studies also offers many local internships including the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the Keep Putnam County Beautiful Clean Commission. Students are given many opportunities through the School of Environmental Studies and there is a newsletter that the director, Steve Sharp, issues each semester informing all students about the many programs students are engaged in. This newsletter also provides current students with updates on past students and how they are utilizing their degree now.

Tennessee Tech collaborates with the local "Seedfork of the Highlands" and Tennessee Department of Agriculture in the Urban Gardening Initiative which provides opportunities for student interns to work with communities in 4 different areas. The students work at maintaining the urban gardens, but also at guiding and teaching residents on how to maintain the gardens on their own in the future.

Through the Creative Inquiry Summer Experience (CISE) program students are given the opportunity to conduct paid, summer research under a faculty mentor. Many of the students choose to conduct research related to sustainability. Some of the 2021 projects focused on studying microplastics in our watershed, tracking Tennessee squirrel populations, and collecting stormwater data for a local underserved community. https://www.tntech.edu/provost/ureca/cise.php

Also in 2021, the Office of Sustainability partnered with the Student Government Association to declare EagleFIT Week a campus wide annual event. EagleFIT is a student led program that brings awareness to students and staff about how they can live a healthier life. This program focuses on three aspects of health: physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco cessation. Living a healthier life and living a sustainable life go hand in hand. EagleFIT encourages those on campus to walk or ride bikes instead of driving, which serves as a sustainable effort to decrease carbon emissions. The program also encourages Tennessee Tech to eat locally, which is another way to be sustainable. By encouraging the cessation of tobacco, it will decrease the amount of cigarettes as litter. EagleFIT naturally encourages the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainability. https://www.tntech.edu/sustainability/eaglefit.php

There are also student worker and internship opportunities available at the Office of Sustainability.
https://www.tntech.edu/sustainability/index.php

The file chosen is the School of Environmental Studies Newsletter for Fall 2021.