Editor’s note: This summer, 26 students in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) are getting hands-on experience as interns with government agencies and private companies. In our occasional “On the Job” series, we feature some of their stories.
Hannah Echt, MS, Occupational Health
Intern with: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health through the Junior Commissioned Officer Student Training and Extern Program
This summer, I am working for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducting workplace health hazard evaluations.
My work takes me to a wide range of worksites, including a cannabis harvesting and production facility in Massachusetts, a railcar repair facility in New York and a construction site in Ohio.
As a junior commissioned officer with the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, I work with both commissioned officers and civilians at the NIOSH Hazard Evaluation and Technical Assistance Branch in Cincinnati, Ohio.
This internship has been a wonderful opportunity for me to learn more about industrial hygiene from senior people in my field, gain practical experience through field work and engage with diverse employers and employees during site visits. I have developed technical and professional skills in industrial hygiene and gained experience in environmental sampling methods.
I have learned so much from my colleagues, and I am grateful for their mentorship and the professional connections I am building at NIOSH.
