Caitlin (Katy) Kontgis, a UCSB undergrad junior working towards her BS in Physical Geography, was recently accepted by the National Geographic Society’s Washington Internship Program and will be working in their education and children’s program division from January 17 to April 21, 2006. The purpose of the highly competitive NGS internships is to give qualified students a professional learning experience via participation in various projects aimed at the diffusion of geographic knowledge. Interns are paid $325 a week for a 40-hour work week and are given a stipend to cover travel expenses between their academic institution and Washington, D.C.—but are responsible for their own lodging while in the D.C. area, including meals and other living expenses. Katy will miss two quarters at UCSB (winter/spring 2006) but feels that “the opportunity is well worth it!”
Katy volunteers at the Santa Barbara Ty Warner Sea Center and works for the UCSB Campus Learning Assistance Services (CLAS) as a geography tutor. Originally from Santa Monica, she likes to scuba dive whenever possible and also enjoys hiking, soccer, and kayaking. As for her interest in Geography, Katy states: “I’m more interested in the science side of geography than the human side, and I’m especially interested in marine sciences and oceanography. I chose to major in physical geography because I was interested in how the landscape was formed. The only way to really preserve the environment is to understand the physical dynamics that form it, so I was pretty much just interested in how things around me worked.” Go Katy!
