After returning from my fall semester abroad in the “Green City” of Germany, Freiburg im Breisgau, I was fueled with a passion for mixing business and sustainability. I had already accepted a position as a Development & Events intern at the West Michigan Environmental Action Council for the spring semester, so then I thought to myself, “what should be my next experience this summer to further my experience and knowledge in the field I am passionate about?” Since I am a junior Business, German, and Biology student at Hope College, I was hoping to obtain some sort of internship that applies my business background to a sustainability role. Some internships I applied for were sustainability analyst intern or sustainability development intern. After a long semester of filling out applications, COVID-19 came and shook the lives of every college student job searching for the summer. I was left hopeless after not obtaining an internship by the end of the spring semester.
However, soon after the end of the spring semester I had an email pop into my inbox that mentioned an available internship position at Eighth Day Farm. I have had some previous farming experience before and have always loved getting my hands dirty and working outdoors, so I thought I should check out their website. Once I had found that EDF sustainably grows their produce for the local community in an urban setting, and how previous interns have gone on to assume other sustainability roles after the internship, I was very interested in applying. I told my friends about the opportunity and they said “Eric Schumann farming for the summer? Sounds exactly like something he would do.” Next thing I knew, I was moving from my hometown in Hartland, MI back to Holland to farm for the summer!
Interning at EDF for the summer has exceeded my expectations in every way possible. This summer has been so much fun working with the group of interns and mentors that are around for this summer. I hope that during my time at EDF I learn to become capable of sustainably growing produce myself. It is also cool to learn about the ties that a local farm has with consumers and businesses in the community, and how I can be involved with local farms in the future. My new favorite vegetable since beginning work at the farm is garlic scapes because of how much flavor is packed into one small, crunchy bite. While I’m not at the farm hoeing fields or tilling beds, I like to spend a lot of my time taking advantage of the West Michigan outdoors. I often go to the beach when the sun is out (when is the sun not shining during a summer in Holland?) and enjoy hiking around new locations. I would like to think I’m good at basketball, and would definitely 1 v 1 any intern or member once COVID-19 is over.
Once this summer unfortunately comes to an end, I plan on wrapping up my last year at Hope College and continue searching for business/sustainability roles. I hope to continue to live on the west side of the state, but would still be okay moving around in Michigan, or possibly relocating to Germany at some point. Regardless of where I will be in the future, I will always look back to my time at Eighth Day with a smile on my face!
And for your reference for gift cards:
Meijer
Gas (BP, Speedway, Shell, doesn’t matter)
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