AWRC Welcomes Summer Intern

A student at the University of Arkansas has joined the Arkansas Water Resources Center as this year’s summer intern. Her name is Yakeshia (Yaya) Jenkins and she’s a senior in Computer Science.

We hired Yaya this summer because she has the skills and motivation to help us enhance the Center’s information transfer mission. One of her first big projects this summer is to launch a new social media campaign. It’s a fun project to engage people through a question of the week contest with chances to win AWRC swag. Like us on Facebook to play along!

She’ll also be helping to improve the Center’s website with content and design updates. Since she’s less familiar with water science, she’ll have a great perspective on how we can appeal to a broader audience to help inform people about water issues important to Arkansas.

“I’m really interested in web development,” says Yaya. “But I was worried I didn’t have enough experience for this position. But here I am, and I’ve already done a lot.”

Yaya has a lot of experience in various types of information technology. She worked with University of Arkansas Athletics doing media production, and she used to refurbish computers for school programs and local companies.

In her spare time, Yaya creates and develops her own website, social media campaigns, and youtube channel to promote her fun projects.

This is the fourth year of the student internship program at the AWRC. Students have worked on projects from watershed mapping using geographic information systems (GIS) to this year’s information transfer projects including website development.

For questions about the Center or the internship program, contact Erin Scott at erins@uark.edu.