Interns and Research Assistants

At the Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative, we emphasize experiential student learning opportunities wherever feasible, and strive to include students on our research teams for our various projects. Whether through full-time summer internships, externships for academic credit, degree-program capstones, or practical course-based projects, we explore the right fit for the right project with the goal of providing both undergraduate and graduate students with real-world experience in coastal resilience topics before graduation. 

We partner with several schools and programs across main campus and VIMS, including the Law School, Raymond A. Mason School of Business, public policy, environment and sustainability, and others to bring students into the coastal resilience space.

For more information on how you can get involved with the VCRC as a student, please reach out to Assistant Director, Cameron Bruce, at [[csbruce]].

 Current & Previous VCRC Interns & Research Assistants

This table shows current and previous interns for the Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative. The table is broken into sections by semester or summer. The left column is the name of the student, the center column indicates their school or program, and the right column indicates which projects they worked on.

Summer 2026
Name	School / Program	Project(s)
Cara Soscie	W&M Env & Sustainability, Government; Class of 2027	Standard Operating Procedures for Native Wetland Plant Nurseries & Sustainable Harvest
Lauren Woomer	W&M Master of Public Policy Candidate; Class of 2027	Standard Operating Procedures for Native Wetland Plant Nurseries & Sustainable Harvest
Spring 2026
Name	School / Program	Project(s)
Aurora Garrison	W&M Law School J.D. Candidate; Class of 2027	VA Hook & Cook Legal Analysis State & Local Stormwater Management
Maddison Schwarz	University of Richmond Law School J.D. Candidate; Class of 2026	Legal Analysis of Harvesting Wetland Plants for Research & Propagation
Madeleine Fernandez	W&M Env & Sustainability, Biology; Class of 2027	Legal Analysis of Harvesting Wetland Plants for Research & Propagation
Arlie Munday	W&M Env & Sustainability, Government; Class of 2028	VA Hook & Cook Legal Analysis VA 2026 General Assembly Review
Summer 2025
Name	School / Program	Project(s)
Kevin Fontenot	W&M Law School J.D. Candidate; Class of 2026	VA No Adverse Impact Legal Guide Changing Vertical Datums
Kianne Benjamin	VIMS M.A. in Marine Science Candidate; Class fo 2026	Changing Vertical Datums Outreach & Communications
Natalie Klesch	VIMS M.A. in Marine Science Candidate; Class of 2025	Changing Vertical Datums Chickahominy Indian Tribe Native Plant Nursery Business Plan
Kelsey Wakiyama	W&M Env & Sustainability, Business Analytics; Class of 2026	Chickahominy Indian Tribe Native Plant Nursery Business Plan
Spring 2025
Name	School / Program	Project(s)
Daniella Relvas-Valiadis	W&M Law School J.D. Candidate; Class of 2026	VA No Adverse Impact Legal Guide
Summer 2024
Name	School / Program	Project(s)
James Fakolt	W&M Law School J.D. Candidate	VA No Adverse Impact Legal Guide
Elizabeth Qi	W&M Law School J.D. Candidate	VA No Adverse Impact Legal Guide