Northwest Indiana is brimming with opportunity for young professionals. One organization that truly exhibits internship excellence is Dunes Learning Center. Located in Chesterton, the organization offers internships as camp counselor and interpretive naturalist. We spoke with the Education Director, Erin Crofton, about their program.
Indiana INTERNnet: What exactly is the Dunes Learning Center and what role do you play in the organization?
Erin Crofton: Dunes Learning Center is a national model for place-based residential environmental education. Operating in partnership with the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Dunes Learning Center educators provide year-round curriculum and standards-based learning experiences in nature. Our trained education staff and 63-acre campus located inside Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore are truly unique and valuable resources.
As the Education Director, I lead education staff and programs. This includes program development, implementation, education staff recruitment, training, supervision and evaluation.
IIN: Why is the Dunes Learning Center internship program amazing?
Crofton: Each year we take on 10 Interpretive Naturalists and 10 Camp Counselors from all over the world. Our interns acquire skills in interpretation and environmental education as well as “soft skills” that benefit them throughout their lives no matter what career path they decide to take.
IIN: What internship successes have you experienced so far?
Crofton: Almost all of our past interns have accepted amazing jobs following their internship at Dunes Learning Center! I am proud to say many are currently employed as Naturalists or Park Rangers with the National Park Service, state or county parks. Others are employed as teachers in schools all over the country or in other exciting positions.
IIN: How has EARN Indiana benefitted the internship program?
Crofton: EARN Indiana has been a great program to work with. It is super easy to administer and the support is great. The experience has been a very positive one so far.
IIN: What do you feel is the importance of mentorships?
Crofton: There are so many benefits that come out of mentorships/internships. I have found that it provides a way for young adults to try something they have never done before and see if they like it. Every year I get people that say, “I never saw myself as an educator, but I love the outdoors and I enjoy working with kids and I want to make a difference so I thought I would give this a chance.” And 9 times out of 10 they find that education is indeed their passion. And there is always that person that finds this isn’t for them, and that is ok too, because they have learned the life skills here that they can use to get a job in any field they want. Teaching young adults work skills like flexibility, responsibility, punctuality, being accountable, being patient, how to work on a team, as well as how to work independently are extremely important to their growth. All of these things apply to anything you do in life. Good mentorships/internships prepare people to be the best they can be.
IIN: What advice would you give employers starting an internship program?
Crofton: Make sure you have the resources to provide a meaningful program to your interns. It is a waste of everyone’s time if both parties don’t benefit from the experience. Provide as much opportunity to your interns as possible so that they can get a wholistic picture of what the line of work entails and most importantly, provide them with skills they can use.
IIN: Why is Northwest Indiana a good region for young professionals?
Crofton: NWI has so many positive things going for it! We have everything here! Diversity, environment, economics, education, opportunity, and the list goes on and on. The opportunities to be creative and make positive changes are endless. We need young, fresh ideas to keep moving NWI forward.
