
Yinuo Lin, Masters in Social Policy ’24, China
This summer, I had the opportunity to work as a project intern at PennEnvironment. This was my first time working for an advocacy group, which provided a platform for me to apply my knowledge to real-world challenges. Throughout the internship, I participated in various campaigns and honed my written and verbal communication skills through different projects. the weekly workshops deepened my understanding of the diverse work within non-profit organizations. This experience introduced me to frontier advocacy and offered a unique glimpse into the behind-the-scenes efforts that shape social policies.
As a Master’s student majoring in social policy, I spent past semesters exploring the impact of policies across different social sectors on a macro scale. During my studies, my interest in policy-related fieldwork grew, leading me to discover the internship opportunity at PennEnvironment. The major parts of my job consisted of phone-banking, gathering information for campaign, making social media post content for specific policies, and writing letters to the editor. Interning with PennEnvironment exposed me to a wide range of advocacy activities and grassroots promotion techniques. I was able to step out of the ivory tower and engage directly with both legislators and constituents, discussing why and how they should support environmental policies.
The most rewarding part of this internship was connecting with people who were equally passionate about and committed to a healthier future and cleaner environment. During one of the phone-bankings, I learned about forest conservation from a resident of Allegheny County. It was the phone-banking for a petition to the Biden administration, during which I was explaining the ecosystem services provided by old-growth forest and asking people to sign a petition that supports the regulation of logging and forest conservation. The resident I talked to was not only very supportive of the cause but shared a cheerful local conservation story with me. I felt my work was crucial for spreading environmental awareness to the public and bonding with concerned citizens, empowering them with tools to advocate for the policies they support.
I also worked on a video project for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), aiming to encourage more Pennsylvanians to switch to renewable energy. I had the opportunity to interview the Superintendent at Steelton-Highspire School District to learn about their remarkable solar project and electric school bus initiative. The Steelton-Highspire School District now uses exclusively solar energy electric school buses, which extensively saves the district’s energy bill and cultivates a sustainable living and learning environment for students. It was an inspiring story of how renewable energy and sustainable lifestyle could combine with education and increase students’ interest in those fields in their early ages.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2024 GAPSA Summer Internship Funding Program that is coordinated by Penn Career Services. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here.