Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation
 > Parks and Rec Home > About Parks & Recreation > Employment > Collegiate Internship Opportunities

Collegiate Internship Opportunities

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission's Department of Parks and Recreation offers formal college student internships in many fields, including community recreation, planning, design, architecture, engineering, maintenance, childcare, therapeutic recreation, sports, interpretation, horticulture, history, and art. Positions are available for Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.

For more information contact Amber Fogle, Human Resources Assistant, at 301-699-2476, FAX 301-699-2561 or by emailing amber.fogle@pgparks.com.


STUDENT ELIGIBILITY
  • Students must be currently enrolled in an appropriate program at a college or university at the undergraduate or graduate level.
  • Students must have at least a 2.5 GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
  • Students must have at least a junior-class standing

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
  • Students must submit an M-NCPPC employment application to be considered for employment.
    PDF Download an application form
  • Students must also submit a personal resume and a college transcript (An unofficial transcript is acceptable)
Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Interviews for positions will be conducted.

Applications with resumes and transcripts may be emailed to amber.fogle@pgparks.com or mailed to:
MNCPPC
Prince George's Department of Parks & Recreation
Attn: Amber Fogle 
Human Resources
6600 Kenilworth Avenue, Riverdale MD 20737

And should be received no later than the following dates for each semester (Early submission is encouraged.):

Fall semester - July 1
Winter semester - December 1
Summer semester - April 1

Positions are available in these areas:

Area Operations (Community Recreation Programming)
Area Operations is responsible for the operation of basic park and recreation leisure programs including recreation centers and classes. Depending on the semester, students may have the opportunity to work in community centers, youth programs, supervised gyms, day camps, playgrounds, routine maintenance, and class programs. Additional internship opportunities working with individuals with disabilities are available in Inclusion Services.

Students will have a variety of observation and "hands-on" experiences with several work supervisors in a number of different programs and administrative situations. The total experience will expose each student to the daily operations of a grassroots parks and recreation system. The opportunity to meet with citizen volunteers and elected/appointed public county and municipal officials will be an integral part of the work experience.

Arts and Cultural Heritage Division
Interns with the Arts and Cultural Heritage Division gain an overview of arts administration, cultural facility management, public relations, general recreation and festival planning, arts council involvement, career counseling and grantsmanship training.

The division provides a variety of services to individual artists and performers and to county-based dance, music, theater, and visual arts groups. This includes securing performing and exhibit opportunities; making referrals to qualified instructors; providing guidance in setting up class programs; workshops and arts festivals; reviewing performances; securing and lending equipment; disseminating information on grants available from various sources; and arranging judges for exhibits or touring competitions.

Special Programs Division
The Special Programs Division provides interns with the opportunity to work with a variety of programs. One of the division's primary responsibilities is overseeing programs and services for youth and seniors. The division operates four senior centers and two child care centers, and monitors school-age child care programs.

This division is also responsible for the administration and management of Prince George's County Employees' Child Care Center in Upper Marlboro for infants and children through age six, and the Prince George's County Public Schools Employees' Child Care Center in Glenridge Elementary School for two-to-six year old children.

Therapeutic Recreation
The Special Programs Division also promotes and provides recreational programs and services for individuals with disabilities and provides resource information and technical support to M-NCPPC staff, community groups, and other metropolitan agencies serving individuals with disabilities. Diverse community-based recreational programs are developed to meet a wide variety of individual as well as group needs, and an array of internships are available in the Division's seasonal and year-round programs. Day camps, after-school programs, social clubs, leisure skills development programs, sports and outdoor programs, and seasonal classes are just a few of the opportunities available to students. Programs are designed to provide opportunities that promote skill development, socialization, and fun! Activities may include swimming, nature, sports, trips, music, dance, and drama. The Division advocates for the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in all of the Department's programs and services. Internships are available under the supervision of certified personnel.

Maintenance and Development Division
The Maintenance and Development Division is responsible for maintaining the Department's park land and facilities and new park construction. The division includes a complete maintenance staff, including trades personnel, heavy equipment operators, vehicle mechanics, and horticulture specialists. Student fieldwork is available in a number of park maintenance areas including landscape maintenance, turf maintenance, forestry, plant propagation, and inventory control.

Natural and Historical Resources Division
This division manages historic sites, museums, nature centers, and wildlife conservation areas within Prince George's County. The nature programs of the division include ecology clubs, farm tours, boat trips, canoeing, camping, and related outdoor and natural recreation activities. Facilities include the Old Maryland Farm, Watkins Nature Center, Clearwater Nature Center, Mt. Rainier Nature and Recreation Center, Bladensburg Waterfront Park, the Park Ranger Program, and Patuxent River Park. Internships provide students with opportunities in nature center operations, wildlife management, natural history interpretation, environmental education, and natural areas preservation.

History-related internships offer training in museum management, collections, conservation, museum design, exhibits, research, archaeology, and museum programs. M-NCPPC historic sites are located throughout the county and include: Montpelier Mansion, Riversdale House Museum, College Park Aviation Museum, Marietta House Museum, Darnall's Chance House Museum, and the Surratt House, as well as the Black History and Archaeology programs.

Park Planning and Development Division
The Park Planning and Development Division is responsible for planning the future growth of the Department. Its major functions include determining land acquisition and facility development needs as well as conducting specific park area and special studies. Student internships are available in several functional areas including park planning, landscape design, GIS, and environmental planning.

Sports, Health and Wellness Division
The Sports, Health and Wellness Division administers a comprehensive, competitive sports program for youth and adults, and manages a variety of sports and fitness facilities. Interns assist in the implementation and coordination of various youth, adult, and special event programs. Examples of intern opportunities include coordinating special events and trips; supervising tournaments and playoffs; assisting in scheduling leagues, clinics, and workshops; compiling and maintaining league standings and working with athletic support organizations such as the AAU, USSSA, USVBA, Potomac Valley Track & Field Federation, ASA, MRPA, NSA, and USGF.

Information Technology and Communications Division
Computer Specialist Cooperative Student Internship Program

The Computer Specialist Cooperative Student Internship program is designed to provide junior and senior level college Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, Math and other computer related disciplines with the opportunity to acquire “Hands On” skills as well as valuable resume experience that will complement the theory that they are currently learning in school.

The Information Technology and Communications Division is responsible for managing the Departments’ wide area voice and data communication networks. These networks encompass several local area subnets that are distributed over more than two-hundred (200) county wide locations while delivering services to well over seven-hundred (700) internal end-users.

The ITC team is also responsible for ensuring network security and integrity; administration of department-wide database management systems; providing authorized access to client server and web-based applications and portals; implementation and management of electronic security systems; hardware, software and peripheral installation, management and maintenance; as well as customer support for various Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) applications such as Microsoft Office; Windows, Macintosh and Linux based operating systems; Blackberry and Exchange electronic messaging systems; Oracle; Activenet Technologies; Network Access Control; Citrix; and GIS applications. Additionally, we also assume the tactical and administrative lead for the Department’s Strategic Plan initiatives such as document imaging and archiving; IT and Communications related policy and procedure creation and enforcement; disaster recovery; business continuity; PCI compliance and education; as well as enterprise maintenance management systems and reporting.

Internship candidates will be incorporated into our team support model via team and one on one training session that will cover all of the previously mentioned areas as well a specialized project. They may also be required to maintain and make minor repairs to computer equipment; act as a liaison between the division and customers; provide support to after-school computer lab programs; and develop, support, and maintain Internet web pages. These positions require the ability to embrace the concepts of performance metrics, shared responsibility and team work.

Transportation is absolutely necessary.