Westhill High School Seniors Complete Internship With Stamford's SoundWaters

STAMFORD, CT — Four seniors from Westhill High School recently completed a five-week internship at SoundWaters in Stamford, gaining practical experience in environmental education and climate science as part of the final stretch of their high school careers.

Diego Buresch, Sean Harriorin, Faisal Naziri, and Maria Pazos spent the spring working at the SoundWaters Coastal Education Center at Cove Island Park, stepping away from traditional classroom instruction to participate in hands-on environmental programming.

The Westhill students were part of a select group of high school interns from several area schools.

During the program, the interns helped deliver environmental lessons to more than 2,000 students across the region, working with preschool through middle school classes. Activities ranged from classroom and lab experiments to fieldwork aboard boats on Holly Pond.

"There is something really powerful about watching a student see a crab for the first time or understand how the tides work," said Buresch in a prepared statement. Buresch plans to attend the University of New Haven in the fall. "You realize that you are helping them build a relationship with the environment around them."

SoundWaters, a Stamford-based nonprofit, provides hands-on climate science education programs focused on the Long Island Sound ecosystem. The high school internship program is a launching pad for personal growth.

"Our interns are at the heart of our mission,” said SoundWaters Director of Education Christina Genz. "They lead with curiosity, teach with passion and walk away with real skills and purpose. At SoundWaters, we believe that when students discover the Sound, they embrace the world and this group of interns truly embodied that spirit."