Meet Our New Summer Intern, Emily!

Hello! My name is Emily Howley, and I am the summer intern at the Growing Center!

I’m currently a student at Reed College in Portland, OR, but I grew up in the Union Square area. The first time I remember visiting the Growing Center was in early elementary school, when students from the Argenziano were invited to participate in the center’s Maple Project. In high school, I got to work on a play that was performed in the space, and I co-led Sunrise Somerville, which volunteered in the center. 

At Reed, I’m majoring in Environmental Studies with a concentration in History. It’s an interdisciplinary major that has required me to take classes in Biology, Chemistry, Statistics, Political Science, and especially Environmental History. Environmental History studies the relationships between humans and other elements of the natural world, and takes seriously the role that the environment has played in shaping world events. I have one more year at Reed, and then I’m hoping to work for a while in environmental nonprofits before eventually going back to school and then working in environmental planning or a related field.

I’m enjoying seeing how the Growing Center puts the theory I’m learning about in school into practice, and appreciate getting to be part of their community events and site work. So far, I’ve been helping with event hosting, some site tasks, and planning for longer-term projects. I’m looking forward to getting to meet more volunteers and getting a better understanding of how everything is run.

I love cats and miss visiting my friend’s cat Puddles in Portland.

It’s so nice to be back in Somerville! Outside of the Growing Center, I enjoy walking around the city, knitting, reading, sewing, and going to the movies. I’m hoping to see more live music and learn how to make sourdough this summer.