Meet Sustain Charlotte’s 2022 summer interns

Sustain Charlotte has two new interns for summer 2022, Mia Jammal and Daisy Hoover. Both of them are local college students, and we asked them to share a bit about their experiences here.

Sustain Charlotte Intern Mia Jammal

Mia Jammal

I am originally from Houston. I moved to Charlotte to study at UNC Charlotte, majoring in public health and business with an additional minor in Spanish. I enjoy reading novels as well as hiking.

I plan on shadowing multiple employees within the Sustain Charlotte office and attending meetings concerning transportation and clean energy in the Charlotte area. I hope to contribute to projects such as the upcoming walkability audit and learn as much as possible about the Strategic Mobility Plan and its eventual impact.

I would like to focus on learning how nonprofits work together with residential stakeholders, including but not limited to local businesses and community members. I believe a core pillar in creating a considerable impact as a nonprofit is working closely with other organizations deeply rooted in the area.

Sustain Charlotte’ Intern Daisy Hoover

Daidy Hoover

Hi everyone! My name is Daisy Hoover, and I’m a rising junior at Davidson College. I’m majoring in biology and potentially minoring in environmental studies.

I’m originally from Miami, where I grew up kayaking and spending a lot of time on the water. I still love being outdoors, and I enjoy hiking and running in my free time. On campus, you can find me working in the greenhouse or practicing keys with my girl band, Trophy Husband. I love anything crafty, so I’m always starting new crochet projects and picking up new hobbies, like printmaking and basket weaving.

I’ve always had an interest in biology, and this year I was able to take ecology, which opened my eyes to the threat climate change poses to our environment.

I was inspired to pursue a research project studying the effects of drought on the Catawba heritage variety of corn. Based on weather changes predicted for North Carolina, the project made me realize how quickly and close to home the effects of climate change would hit. So far in my classes, I’d mostly focused on global issues. I hadn’t considered how these changes would affect my community. Through these experiences, I discovered my passion for biology as it relates to sustainability and became determined to minimize harm to our communities and our environment.

This is why I am so excited to be an intern for Sustain Charlotte. I want to better understand the specific sustainability issues Charlotte faces and get a firsthand look into how real, day-to-day change is made. Although I’ve only been here a few weeks, I have learned how critical smart urban design and reliable public transportation are to mitigating the effects of climate change. To protect the environment and ourselves, we have to build more sustainable communities and cities. I’m excited to engage with the Charlotte community and build a more holistic understanding of sustainability, especially how it relates to equity and environmental justice.

This summer, I will focus on the recently-passed Strategic Mobility Plan, which aims to eliminate fatal traffic accidents and increase the proportion of commutes made without a car. In the coming weeks, I will be writing blog posts about the positive impacts the plan could have on the Charlotte community. I look forward to spending the rest of the summer working with Sustain Charlotte!

Thanks for reading!

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