Spotlight story: Elisha Henry's sustainability-related internship and placement year
Read about how Elisha's experiences have prepared her for the world of work.
We love hearing from our University of York students about their experiences. We recently chatted to Elisha Henry, a 3rd Year Human Geography and Environment student, who shared her experience undertaking both a placement year with Pharmaron Biologics (UK) Ltd, and an internship with The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU).
Have a read below at Elisha's story and how these experiences have helped her going forward:
What did your placement year involve?
I undertook a placement year as an Environmental Health and Safety placement student at Pharmaceutical R&D site, Pharmaron Biologics UK. My role was extremely varied, but some key responsibilities included the management of our site’s energy and waste data, getting involved in the work of our sustainability team, and being a champion for the My Green Lab project. I discovered my talent and my enjoyment for communications and was made comms lead of our sustainability team due to my efforts.
What did your internship involve?
After my placement I interned with the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), a large railway upgrade between Manchester and York. I worked in the Sustainability and Social value team on a four-week research project and provided community enhancement recommendations. This involved identifying the communities along the route facing disruption; then locating charities and organisations and finding out how we could partner with them. It was great to find out that some of these partnerships have already been materialised, off the back of my work.
What did you learn from your experiences?
My experiences taught me a lot about my strengths (and weaknesses), my work style and how to apply myself in a corporate setting. I also understand with practical experience how environmental and sustainability issues are tackled in business. I am more informed, more confident and I feel prepared for the world of work!
Thanks to Elisha for sharing her story and we hope that her positive experiences will encourage other students to consider sustainability-related internships and placements.
Find out latest sustainability-related opportunities on the Student Sustainability Opportunities Hub.