Meet Noah: Special Projects Intern

Noah, a current student at Dartmouth University, is visiting family here is Pittsburgh. He decided to spend part of his holiday break interning with us, so we decided to ask him some questions about what he is working on.

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Noah Rickerich

year: Sophmore
school: Dartmouth
major: Economics and Philosophy

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GTECH: Where are you from originally?

NOAH: I’ve lived in York, Maine my whole life

G: So why are you here in Pittsburgh and interning with GTECH of all places?

N: I’m visiting family that lives here and my cousin actually sits on the board. I’ve been volunteering for most of my life so I have an understanding of the on the ground work that nonprofit organizations do. I also recently spent some time in Washington D.C. working with government departments to streamline regulatory processes. From what my cousin told me, GTECH seemed like a good marriage of the two environments: an organization that does grassroots work and is involved in higher level policy issues.

G: What is your favorite part of Pittsburgh so far?

N: I love the topography – the hills and the close, diverse neighborhoods. I’m also interested in reading about Pittsburgh’s industrial past and the figures that had such influence here.

G: Yeah, the hills are brutal. Have you heard of the Dirty Dozen bike race?

N: [laughs] Yeah, I’ve heard about it. I ride for the cycling team at Dartmouth. I brought my bike with me, but I haven’t ridden any epic hills yet.

G: Ok, back to the serious stuff. Can you explain in your own words, what you are working on during your three weeks with us?

N: Sure. I’m working with the ReEnergize team to do some research for the Coalition, which is a partnership of public, private and nonprofit organizations who have vested interests in the energy efficiency industry. I’ll be cataloging all the current members along with their mission and programs – essentially looking for new ways they can contribute and participate in order to shape what the Coalition can be. Also, I’ll be researching other energy programs across the U.S. and creating a benchmark for ReEnergize going into 2014. This is important because we can see how the Coalition can best work together to make the greatest impact and have a way to measure success next year. I also provide a set of fresh eyes on the program and am able to offer up an outsider’s perspective.

G: Yeah, it is good to get different outlooks on our work – it is extremely valuable for us to reset that perspective.  Thanks Noah for spending time with us during your break.

Here at GTECH there is always work to be done. At the office we offer special, short-term projects for students that help develop professional experience in such areas of the green economy, community capacity building and neighborhood-based investigative work.

Are you a student interested in spending some time interning with GTECH? Fill out the volunteer form and tell us a little bit about yourself.