U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Emergency Management Internship, Summer 2024
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 for nine to ten weeks during the summer. They are fully funded by the Lane Center with stipends ranging from $7,500 to $10,000.
The Lane Center has placed hundreds of interns in positions across the West since 2005. It has developed strong relationships with host organizations and works hard to ensure interns have successful and enriching experiences.
For more information about the internship program, please visit the FAQs page, or email Education Manager Corinne Thomas.
Details about the summer 2023 cohort of student interns and their placements can be found here.
Student reflections about the internship experience can be found by visiting the Out West student blog and the Lane Center Instagram channel.
Stipend Information:
The Bill Lane Center will provide a base stipend of $7,500 with additional funding for student financial aid and location, if applicable, up to $10,000.
For master's students, the stipend is $10,000.
PLEASE NOTE for this internship: A security check required to receive a Common Access Card (CAC).
Interns must be U.S. citizens.
Description of the Agency and an Internship Overview:
The mission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is to deliver vital engineering solutions, in collaboration with our partners, to secure our Nation, energize our economy, and reduce disaster risk.
The South Pacific Division, Emergency Management (SPD EM) Team manages all hazards preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation activities throughout the region and in coordination with district EM offices in San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Albuquerque.
In addition, the SPD team coordinates with other divisions across the United States and its territories for support to FEMA. Some of the programs overseen by SPD staff include Continuity of Operations/ Catastrophic Planning, Enable rapid provision of engineering services under USACE authorities (P.L. 84-99), The Stafford Act / National Response Framework (DHS/FEMA) – Planning & Response Teams, and Defense Support of Civil Authorities.
The intern will provide support in flood and other disaster preparedness training and exercises, to include preparation of briefing slides, geospatial products, data management, after action review reports, and analysis on infrastructure assessment, debris management, temporary emergency power, temporary housing, and other potential missions following a natural disaster.
Because of the short nature of this internship, all work will be from the SPD Headquarters in San Francisco (not a deployment).
Internship Work Environment:
It is an in-person internship at the South Pacific Division office. There is limited, if any, outdoor / field work.
The intern will be part of a team under the RCO/EM Chief John Beldin-Quinones, and directly in support of Deputy RCO Chief Jessica Fischer, but also with staff from the division: Josh Jimerfield, Patricia Fontanet Rodriguez, John Cheng, and other civilian members of South Pacific Division. There will be some limited interaction with military officers such as Colonel James Handura, Colonel Mike Baim, and Lieutenant Colonel Angela Delwiche.
Work hours are generally from 0800-1630, with a morning check in. Most of the work will be face to face in San Francisco, with some field visits. The team is a hybrid of in-office staff as well as remote staff (including other time zones).
There will be structured recurring meetings, time for mentoring, and time for the intern to work independently, with their own work cube in the office work area, with direct access to two to three senior staff in the office.
Transportation: It is not necessary to have a car; public transportation options are available in San Francisco.
Housing is not provided.
Location: San Francisco, California.
- Write After Action Reports following disaster response and recovery efforts,
- Support preparation of Emergency Plans and Exercises,
- Use existing visual geospatial platforms and provide feedback for improvement,
- Support Emergency Operations Center preparations and activations through upward reporting (e.g. Powerpoint),
- Assist with tracking status of levee repair projects throughout the region.
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 9-10 consecutive weeks during the summer.
Specific start and end dates can be coordinated directly with the supervisor.
All undergraduates of any year, including graduating seniors, are eligible. Graduating seniors are eligible only if they are graduating in spring quarter. Students who have already graduated, e.g., fall or winter quarter of this academic year are not eligible.
Coterms are eligible only if they hold undergraduate status.
For more application advice, please visit the BLC’s FAQs page.
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 an internship.
- New Stipend Policy per the U.S. Department of Education: A stipend is considered a resource and it may have an impact on a student’s financial aid. To comply with US Department of Education regulations, student payments, awards, prizes, and gifts that are made available to the student because they are a Stanford student, must be reported to the Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Office is responsible for the disbursement of stipend funds to undergraduates. For more information, please visit the Financial Aid Office's webpage about the student stipend policy.
Application Guidelines for this Internship:
PLEASE NOTE for this internship: A security check required to receive a Common Access Card (CAC).
Interns must be U.S. citizens.
The following majors would be applicable or helpful: civil engineering, other engineering, geologists, environmental science, natural resources management, construction management, emergency management, GIS.
The applicant must be comfortable representing the service mission of USACE with integrity.
Required Skills:
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Excel, Powerpoint, Word
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Good communication and writing skills
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Organizational skills
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Time management skills
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A good attitude: enthusiasm for learning and trying new things, and a willingness to ask for help when needed.
Desired Skills:
- Survey 123, ArcGIS
Selection of applicants:
Complete applications are screened and finalists are contacted for a first-round interview with staff from the Bill Lane Center for the American West.
The top candidates for the position are then forwarded to the organization for second-round interviews with their potential supervisor 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 are required to 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.