Endowment Welcomes New 2012 Interns

Katie Premo and Sofi Delgado Perusquia, two recent graduates of Furman University, Greenville, SC, are the new interns at the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment). Both will work with the Endowment for a year.

Premo earned a degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences with a concentration in Environmental Studies. During her time at Furman, Katie approached her Environmental Sciences major from the perspective of sustainability and social sciences while still studying the scientific aspect of earth sciences, focusing heavily on food systems in Greenville, SC.  “I’m passionate about the environment and how people interact with their surroundings, so joining the Endowment will give me a unique opportunity to explore all of my earth sciences interests,” Premo said.  “I’m excited to join the Endowment as an intern, and I’m looking forward to digging deeper in to some of the projects that are currently being explored. I’m particularly interested in how population and land cover change impact nearby forested communities,” she continued.  Premo looks forward to working on pertinent projects and is hopeful that she can provide useful data to positively impact forested communities within the scope of the Endowment.

Sofi Delgado Perusquia was born in Mexico City, Mexico and moved to the States at the age of nine. She holds Bachelors of Art degrees in both Economics and Asian Studies from Furman University. During her time at Furman, Sofi was involved in many activities but spent most of her time working for the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability.  “As the Communications and Outreach Fellow, I edited the biannual newsletter, The Long View,” Delgado Perusquia notes. “Most recently, I co-founded the Sustainability and Environmental and Education for Kids (SEEK) program that designs and teaches sustainability-related lesson plans at elementary schools around the Greenville area. I’m very excited to begin working at the Endowment and am ready to begin contributing to the many ongoing projects.” Delgado Perusquia is very interested in economic and community development, and she is eager to learn about forest-reliant communities and forest management in general. More specifically, she hopes to devote much of her time to the newly-added Asset Creation initiative while still helping with the Endowment’s six other Initiatives.

“Interns bring great energy, technological savvy, expertise, and new perspectives to the Endowment,” said Senior Vice President Peter Stangel. “They are an essential part of our organization, and Katie and Sofi will continue a strong tradition in place since the Endowment’s creation. We are delighted to have them with us.”