Schools to Careers

Recently a group of students from the Schools to Careers Partnership out of Blue Hills Regional Technical School contacted Save the Harbor/Save the Bay asking to set up a talk with Save the Harbor's Bruce Berman about the history of the Boston Harbor clean up and about environmental advocacy in general. The students were from Avon, Blue Hills Technical, Canton, Dedham, Holbrook, Milton, Norwood and Randolph and are interested in the sciences. The hope for this talk was to provoke some thought about different STEM careers.

The group poses with Bruce Berman right on the Harbor.

It was a hot day at the Bank of America Pavilion, when the students arrived. After finding a cool, shady spot under the tent, Bruce began his talk about the history of Boston and the Boston Harbor and how it came to be clean and enjoyable thanks to both legislation and popular opinion. He pointed out that where they were at that moment, at the Bank of America Pavilion, was not only the meeting point for Save the Harbor's summer youth programs, but that it used to be an abandoned industrial site. Bruce mentioned water quality tests on the beaches, asking "do you know the water quality of your favorite beach?" Most students said no, and they surely will consider this when they next head to the beach. He also shared the options that young adults have to get involved in the Harbor clean up.

After the history lesson, Bruce engaged with the students in a discussion about their future opportunities and careers. What do they want to accomplish? How are they going to achieve that? The students discussed internships, motivation, summer classes and more. They were very interested in the advice that Bruce had to offer and left feeling inspired to continue on the path to college and beyond. One student even approached Bruce about how to get an internship at Save the Harbor!

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is grateful to have had the opportunity to share its story with the next generation of environmental advocates, marine biologists, engineers and informed citizens.

--Rachel Frenkil
Communication and Events Summer Intern