Ciao from bellissima Milano! The Orange County Environmental Protection Division (EPD) loved catching up with our former intern from 2014, Sharon De Andrade. At the start of her volunteer internship, Sharon was enrolled in the Environmental Studies program at Rollins College. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2016 and began working for the Orange County Planning Division. Sharon currently lives in Milan, Italy, and shared with us a little of her story.
On what she has been up to: After graduating from Rollins, I worked for the Orange County Planning Division as an Urban Planner. During that time, I served as project manager for a multi-jurisdictional, mayor-led initiative geared towards affordable housing. After two years, I decided to enroll in a Master of Science degree program in Urban Planning and Policy Design at the Polytechnic University of Milan in Milan, Italy.
On recent notable projects: After graduating from the Master of Science program, I worked as an Urban Planning Technician at AMAT (Agenzia Mobilità, Ambiente e Territorio), providing technical assistance to urban planning and urban design projects for the City of Milan.
On advice for future interns: My advice is to ask to help with projects and initiatives in other programs within EPD and get involved as much as possible.
On how the EPD internship influenced her career: My EPD internship helped set me on the path of a career in the public sector, as I then started working for the Planning Division and through that experience I gathered the courage to enroll in the Master's program abroad in Italy. One thing led to another, and I was able to follow my dream of living in Italy.
On her favorite memorable moments at EPD: My most memorable moments at EPD were the eVIP cleanup events because I enjoyed meeting others like me who also wanted to help improve the condition of Orange County's conservation areas.
