Jersey Girl Returns Home for the Summer from JMU

Macailagh McCue - James Madison University Class of 2013 - Summer COAST Intern

While I was always interested in environmental issues when I was younger, I didn't discover my love for environmental policy until my senior year of high school. Taking AP Environmental Science taught me a lot, and opened my eyes to the impact that I was personally having on the environment. While in college, I studied public policy and political science, but after interning at the EPA in Washington, DC, I knew that I wanted to work in the environmental field. I recently graduated from James Madison University in Virginia, and will return in the fall as a graduate student pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree.

I've lived near the beach my whole life and my friends at school know how badly I miss it during the year. Being in Virginia was hard for me when Superstorm Sandy hit because I knew that my friends and family at home were struggling so badly. All I wanted for weeks was to come home and help, so I’m happy that this summer I can work for an organization that allows me to do my part to help the shore and the ocean.

I have been working at Clean Ocean Action for almost a month and have learned so much about ocean pollution issues. For my internship I am coordinating this year’s C.O.A.S.T (Clean Ocean Action Shore Tips) campaign. It’s an outreach campaign that allows COA to inform beachgoers about important ocean issues, such as LNG and sea level rise. If you’d like to volunteer with this year’s campaign, email me at Coast@CleanOceanAction.org!