Prairie State is pleased to welcome Kealie Vogel as our Environmental Services Intern this summer.
Kealie is from Peoria, Illinois. She just completed her degree in natural resources and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois (U of I). Kealie was Vice President of the U of I chapter of the American Fishery Society, and she was involved in the club Students for Environmental Concerns. In the fall, Kealie will be a graduate student Chair on the U of I Student Sustainability Committee.
Kealie was an undergraduate research assistant in her department. During high school, she participated in the Building Excellent Scientists for Tomorrow (BEST) Program through Bradley University, which partnered her with Komatsu. Throughout her undergraduate education, Kealie completed internships at The National Great Rivers Research & Education Center, Dixon Springs Agricultural Research Center, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Kealie found Prairie State on a U of I job board website, and she thought this internship would fit well with her master’s program. “My internship at the Illinois EPA showed me how environmental regulations were processed on the government side, and I am looking forward to seeing how those regulations impact one of the companies who must follow them.”
She will be creating policies that will be applicable to issues across campus, such as a groundwater exceedance corrective policy. Kealie is excited to be getting hands-on experience in composing these policies, rather than just learning about them.
In the fall, Kealie will return to U of I to complete her Master’s degree. While she is unsure if she will prefer the corporate side or the government side, she would like her future career to focus on environmental policy.