Are you a college student interested in pursuing a green career?  Then don’t miss Bethesda Green’s Fields of Green Internship Fair on Saturday, May 7.  Held at Bethesda Green’s offices at 4825 Cordell Avenue from 10am to 2pm, the Fields of Green Internship Fair is a chance to meet with green area companies, find an internship for the summer and build necessary skills for a career in the green business world.

“Bethesda Green’s second annual Fields of Green Internship Fair is a great opportunity to support both businesses and students in Montgomery County,” says Dave Feldman, Executive Director of Bethesda Green.  “Our goal is to create a venue where early stage companies attract qualified, talented students to help them grow while providing students real-world, practical experience to develop valuable skills in the workplace.  Last year’s event was a great success.  We had close to 150 students attend, many who found summer job opportunities with local businesses.  This year, we expect to attract 50-75 students from local universities and colleges to visit over a dozen tables showcasing local businesses, government, non-profits and academic institutions.”

The Internship Fair offers a variety of opportunities with green businesses, with a chance to develop skills in marketing, accounting, video production, program development and social media in addition to building expertise in water conservation, community supported agriculture (CSA), home energy audits, and sustainable communications and public relations – four fast-growing areas in green business. 

Companies offering internships at the fair include 4GreenPs, a green and sustainable marketing firm whose founders have multiple years of experience in PR and marketing; home energy auditor Ecobeco, which has received many local and national accolades for their audits and other eco-friendly products and services; and video podcast site TheDCPlace.com, which focuses on creating videos about entertainment, volunteer opportunities and green initiatives in the D.C. area. It's run by an Emmy-winning director and producer.

Greater Washington Power & Light will be at the fair this year, offering a program assistant internship at their organization.  “Bethesda Green has done a wonderful job helping ‘green’ individuals, businesses and organizations throughout the neighborhood find each other and work together,” says Joelle Novey, the group's director.  “I’m hoping the fair will spread the word about the work we are doing to help congregations ‘go green’ to capable students who may be able to lend a hand to our efforts this summer.”

The Maryland Energy & Sustainability Co-op, a one-stop shop for sustainable goods and services in Montgomery County, recruited several interns last year at the Fields of Green Internship Fair.  Mike Kennedy, Energetic Director, is offering several internships this year based on last year’s success. 

“Maryland Energy & Sustainability Co-op was extremely fortunate to have found four summer interns at last year’s fair, and I’m hoping to find four new interns to work with this summer.  Last year’s attendees came with resumes in hand and were very enthusiastic.   I could not have been more pleased with the experience and with the results.  All of the interns were more productive than I had expected and their work product was good to excellent," Kennedy said. 

Interns at the co-op worked on website creation and maintenance,  research, social media and media outreach and  administrative support, Kennedy said.

So, if you’re a college student looking to make a difference this summer and develop knowledge and skills to further a green career, get your resume together and clear your schedule this Saturday for the Fields of Green Internship Fair.  You’ll get a chance to work at some of the fastest-growing and most successful green businesses in the area.  You’ll win, they’ll win and Bethesda will win by creating even more individuals building green business skills.  Best of luck at the internship fair!