Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Social Media Internship, Summer 2023
Every summer, The Bill Lane Center for the American West offers many opportunities for Stanford undergraduates (including graduating seniors and co-terms) to work with organizations throughout the West. Through these internships, students can explore careers in natural history, conservation, land use, museum curation, resource management, energy and more.
All internships are full-time and last ten weeks during the summer. They are fully funded by the Lane Center.
The Lane Center has placed over 200 interns in positions across the West since 2005. As such, we have developed strong relationships with host organizations and work hard to ensure interns have successful and enriching experiences.
For more information about our internship program, please visit our FAQs page, or email Education Manager Corinne Thomas.
Read more about past interns' experiences here.
Stipend Information:
The Bill Lane Center will provide a base stipend of $7,500 with additional funding for student financial aid and cost of living adjustments for the internship location, if applicable.
Description of the Agency and the Internship:
The mission of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources is to enhance, protect, conserve and manage Hawaii’s unique and limited natural, cultural and historic resources held in public trust for current and future generations of the people of Hawaii nei, and its visitors, in partnership with others from the public and private sectors.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources, headed by an executive Board of Land and Natural Resources, is responsible for managing, administering, and exercising control over public lands, water resources, ocean waters, navigable streams, coastal areas (except commercial harbors), minerals, and all interests therein. The department’s jurisdiction encompasses nearly 1.3 million acres of State lands, beaches, and coastal waters as well as 750 miles of coastline (the fourth longest in the country). It includes state parks; historical sites; forests and forest reserves; aquatic life and its sanctuaries; public fishing areas; boating, ocean recreation, and coastal programs; wildlife and its sanctuaries; game management areas; public hunting areas; and natural area reserves.
The social media intern would be assigned to assist the DLNR Communications team in developing and implementing a system to regularly review and discover websites and social media accounts that mention DLNR and properties under its jurisdiction in an effort to identify the promotion of illegal or inappropriate behaviors. This information will be utilized to conduct proactive investigations and/or warnings to those who have or are intending to violate Hawaii Administrative Rules or State statutes.
Interns will also help monitor, contact, keep record of individuals who promote/participate in illegal hiking within DLNR jurisdictions. Interns will help create social media posting and writing captions for social media posts.
For more information about the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, please view:
Internship Work Environment:
This internship is in person only. The intern will work directly with their supervisor, the communications specialist.
A car is not necessary.
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
- Conduct daily checks of identified websites for posts that may appear to promote illegal behaviors on State lands and ocean waters under the jurisdiction of the department.
- Analyze and recommend enhancements to the tracking system to achieve consistency and efficiency.
- Consult with and refer to the Communications Office supervisor any suspected web or social media posts that appear to be promoting illegal or inappropriate behaviors on said lands/waters.
- Spreadsheet management to continually update a list of "web & social media sites" to watch and categorize by a yet to be determined grid.
- Research counter-measures being utilized by other state land management agencies to recommend improvements and best practices.
Bill Lane Center internships are part of Cardinal Quarter opportunities and students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The opportunities are full-time (35-40 hours a week) for 10 consecutive weeks during the summer. Specific start and end dates can be coordinated directly with the supervisor.
Please note:
- Students are not permitted to engage in another full-time internship, job, or volunteer opportunity (whether funded by Stanford or otherwise) during this full-time, summer internship.
- Student athletes should confirm the impact of any awarded stipend on their athletic eligibility by contacting the Compliance Services Office prior to committing to a research project or internship.
All undergraduates, including graduating seniors, are eligible. Coterms are eligible only if they hold undergraduate status.
For more helpful application advice, please visit the BLC’s FAQs page.
Application Guidelines for this Internship:
- Juniors, seniors and coterms are preferred.
- Students with an interest in media communications and social media strategies preferred.
- All majors are eligible including communication, political science, public policy, or earth systems.
Required Skills:
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Solid internet research skills
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Critical thinking and good judgment
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Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
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Ability to understand basic laws and rules to help identify potential violations for follow-up actions
Desired Skills:
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Ability to create clear, well-written reports, and documents on a set schedule to reveal findings.
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Desire to author suggested responses to constituents and potential violators for review by management.
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Willing to recommend and suggest improvements and enhancements to this initiative based on personal knowledge and observations, as the initiative is expected to continue upon the completion of the internship.
Selection of applicants:
Complete applications are screened and finalists are contacted for an interview with staff from The Bill Lane Center for the American West. The top candidates for the position are forwarded to the organization for direct interviews with their potential supervisors and other staff.
Host organizations will then notify the Lane Center of their preferred candidate and that applicant will receive an internship offer from the Bill Lane Center by email.
The applicant is expected to respond promptly (within 48 hours) via email to the offer or the offer will be rescinded.
Once an applicant accepts an offer, they should promptly notify all other Stanford and non-Stanford programs to which they have applied that they have accepted another offer and withdraw their candidacy from those other opportunities.
