Internship Report
By: Brygida Rusinek, ACE NY Intern
Throughout my semester interning at ACE NY, I have gained a lot of insight into renewable energy, beyond what I had learned in my program at Rutgers University - New Brunswick. As I prepare to graduate with my Bachelor's in Geography and Environmental Studies, I can take with me the experiences I had in the legislative process and the policy research I did on the state of New York and beyond. Although I worked remotely, I worked with almost every member of the organization, assisting in their projects and roles. I was able to get a glimpse into everyone’s individual role and see how much work it takes to advocate for and research renewable energy initiatives, especially at a time when it is crucial for our future.
The first task I started on, while I was learning the inner workings of the organization, revolved around tracking the bills that were in different stages of the legislative process. I had never seen this side of it, especially seeing the role organizations such as ACE NY play in supporting or opposing bills that are being discussed and voted on by our legislators. The issuing of memos, which are available to the general public, gives a deeper understanding of the bills, as well as providing further research that supports the stance and why the legislators should vote in a way to support the clean energy initiatives. I eventually transitioned into editing those memos to be more current and ensuring they remained accurate, especially with new initiatives and projects that bring a greener future into closer view.
When I created my first policy memo, start to finish, I felt proud knowing that I had a role in this process, as I had previously always thought of internships as being more in the background, rather than being part of the actual process. My experience at ACE NY completely changed this in my mind, as I felt like my input mattered, even though I had far less expertise than everyone else. The feedback that my supervisor, Deb, gave me on what to change and consider when it came to writing policy memos helped me see what I should focus on further. I saw my role as doing tasks that helped to complement and simplify some of the more complicated work of my coworkers, especially when they talked with legislators about their stances, prepared for lobbying days and big events, or worked alongside members and other clean energy alliances to relay information to the public. Sitting in on meetings as progress has been discussed made me feel like I had a part in the work and I eventually had meetings about my individual work on projects as well.
One task I did that I surprisingly enjoyed was calling legislator offices directly to extend invitations to the Legislative Breakfast ACE NY hosted for a conversation about clean energy and implementing a resilient grid that could help lower the cost of energy, contrary to what some may think about renewable energy. This outreach is crucial in getting different people into a room, especially those that may not share that same view, and share the process and research behind renewable energy that everyone at ACE NY dedicates its time to. I also helped with legislator bios for Advocacy Day, which showcased the accomplishments and lives of some of our legislators in the bios I worked on, while they partook in conversations with our staff.
What I enjoyed most was that I was able to work across different aspects of the company, as I did not just do the same thing my entire semester, which I enjoyed. There was a lot of research that I did, which revolved around topics such as supply-chain manufacturers, policies, ownership of renewable energy, and community organizations in local areas. I have never learned so much as I did in the three months I spent interning at ACE NY, especially with it being on a side of my degree that I hadn’t explored in-depth before, until now.
When I had started my senior year of college in Fall 2025, I had settled on my career focus being on environmental education or something similar, especially as that was all I had experience in prior. I have a strong interest in public policy, but I did not think I could be capable of picking up on it quickly. I suspected I did not know much about the specifics to be of much help, but after the past three months interning, I believe that I am a lot more capable than I had thought with this, and have definitely been looking into more clean energy and policy jobs as I approach graduation soon. Learning is not something that stops once you leave college, and even working alongside the staff at ACE NY, I have seen firsthand that every day is a chance to learn something new, especially with our changing world and technology evolving every day.
I am grateful I stumbled upon this opportunity when I was scrolling on Handshake one day, as this has opened the possibilities of what I can pursue in my career, especially if I do not think I am the most knowledgeable on the topic, as I am leaving ACE NY knowing so much more than I did prior. I have already had conversations with some of my peers in my classes and family about the future of clean energy and about the cool things that are happening with renewable energy efforts. I am glad I stepped out and tried something new that I had basic knowledge of from my education at Rutgers, but now have knowledge of how much work and time go into renewable energy advocacy, especially for it to replace the reliance on fossil fuels in our country. This has led me to find my career passions, and the things I did this semester will definitely be something to reminisce on and guide me throughout my future careers.
