To broaden and develop our teams’ collaborative skills while offering visiting students the chance to expand their scientific networks and gain cultural experiences, BRT encourages students to join our team for internship opportunities. These internships aim to facilitate idea exchange, foster professional growth, and create opportunities for collaboration.
Meet our fall intern joining our team from the United States, Helen Traczyk!
Hi there, my name is Helen Traczyk. I recently graduated with a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I grew up in Chicago, Illinois and currently live in Portland. I have a particular interest in using urban planning and sustainable public transportation to make cities great places to live!
My undergraduate program was an interdisciplinary approach to environmentalism, mostly based in humanities. I learned about environmental theory, policy, and research. For my senior thesis, I researched public transportation at my college and the reason behind why it was so difficult to reduce the number of students who came by car. I am particularly interested in the socioeconomic reasons behind environmental problems and believe that the environment includes people too! Understanding how and why people interact with the world around them is crucial in creating a sustainable and healthy world.
Outside of school and work, I am absolutely brimming with interests and hobbies. Right now, I do arts and crafts like sewing, knitting, drawing, and painting. Like other Portlanders, I spend a lot of time outdoors hiking, camping, and gardening. I also sing in my college’s community choir and have played classical piano for fifteen years. In the evenings, I love to read and watch rom coms.
I am very excited to be a part of the BioResources and Technology Division (BRT) this fall. I am especially looking forward to digging into each team members specific research. As an environmentalist, I am amazed at the many ways people from all over the world are working to create a more sustainable future. One of my goals as an intern here is to learn where I want to go next in my career, so being able to learn from all the members of the team is a fantastic opportunity.
During my time as an intern, I will primarily be assisting the Communications team while also shadowing various team members to see how the research group functions as a whole. I’m looking forward to learning a lot!
For more details on BRT activities, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media for regular updates and highlights.
