Career Series: Fast Five with EGLE staffers at MiCareerQuest

Employers at the event work together to create hands-on exhibits that introduce students to the wealth of careers. They have the opportunity to engage students through conversation and demonstration and to show them firsthand what it’s like to be in an environmental career.

“EGLE is proud to participate in career awareness events for youth, where our staff can inspire the next generation of environmental stewards,” said Eileen Boekestein, EGLE’s Environmental Education Coordinator.

“Engaging with students at this age helps spark curiosity about careers in environmental protection, water quality, and sustainability—fields critical to Michigan’s future. By sharing our expertise, we empower young minds to see how they can make a real impact in their communities and beyond.”

This Fast Five edition of MI Environment – the latest in EGLE’s Career Series – features three of the staffers who attended this event to showcase their careers through engaging, hands-on activities.

They answered these five questions:

1. What is your position at EGLE and what office/city/region do you work out of?
2. Discuss your education journey.
3. What is a typical workday like?
4. How does what you do in your job have an impact on Michiganders’ lives?
5. What advice can you offer to students considering your career path?

3. My typical workday involves modeling dissolved oxygen in rivers to help set limits for wastewater treatment plants and analyzing data. During the summer, in addition to the modeling work, I can be found doing field work around the state. My field work typically includes monitoring water quality parameters (dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH), collecting nutrient samples, measuring sediment oxygen demand, and performing dye studies.

4. One of the things that I realized early in my career was that waste is inevitable from both a biological perspective and in maintaining the standard of living we enjoy. While reducing the amount of waste generated is extremely valuable, we must ensure that the waste that is generated is treated to a point where it won’t negatively impact the environment. Ensuring that our treatment plants have effluent limits that are protective of water quality standards helps protect human health and the environment.  In addition, the field work provides a real-time check to ensure that standards are being protected and is the first step in the process of identifying and correcting any environmental issues we come across.

5. I have two pieces of career advice. The first piece of advice is that networking is vital in your career. There are so many doors of opportunity that you will miss if you ignore building your network. The second piece of advice is to always have an open mind toward unexpected opportunity. Some of the most rewarding career experiences I have had fell outside of my position description and into the vague “other duties as assigned” category. I recognize that networking can have a large social energy cost and that being open to opportunity as it comes up can complicate a busy schedule, which means that this advice is not always easy to follow.  However, in the end, the chance to grow is almost always worth it.

2. I've always loved science and math and I knew at a young age that i wanted to be an engineer. In high school I spent most of my free time camping and hiking with my friends and I really loved the outdoors. I wanted to have a career that had an environmental protection component, which was why I chose to attended Michigan Tech and major in environmental engineering. As I progressed through my classes, I gained a passion for biology and chemistry, so I added a dual degree in biology as well. The biology degree has served me well, as wastewater treatment is heavily dependent on biological processes.

3. These days a lot of my time seems to be spent in meetings. I also spend a lot of time at my computer reviewing engineering drawings and specifications and doing engineering calculations. Did I mention I like math? I also find time to get out in the field to visit construction sites and do inspections with compliance staff.

4. All of us at the Water Resources Division play a key role in keeping our waters clean and to protect the public health. I feel like what I do is critical to this mission. I am the last stop to ensuring that a treatment plant can meet its permit limits before it discharges treated wastewater to a receiving water. My most important responsibility is to ensure that a WWTP is properly designed to limit the discharge of excessive amounts of harmful pollutants and bacteria.

5. I guess I would say a few things. 1. Don't be afraid to fail. We learn and grow from our mistakes. Just don't stop trying. 2. Network. Us engineers aren't always the most social bunch, but put yourself out there and talk to people. Don't worry, it will get easier. 3. Join a professional organization in your field of interest --even as a student! Look for student chapters of professional organizations on campus.

3. Mostly office work with some work out in the field a few times a month.  In the office I evaluate sites of environmental contamination, how we can (the State of Michigan) protect people from being exposed to the contamination or how the people responsible for the contamination can clean it up or manage these sites to protect the community from exposure. This includes understanding area geology, hydrogeology, and interpreting lab reports and maps that detail these sites. In the field it is collecting samples of soil, groundwater, or soil gas, using anything from small hand tools to excavators.

4. By managing sites with chemical impact, we are trying to protect the health and wellbeing of our communities in Michigan by limiting their exposure. We also aid the redevelopment of these impacted properties so they can be safely used by the community, if possible.

5. Talk to teachers and professors about jobs related to the field you’re studying and don’t be afraid to email, call, or visit some of these companies to figure out more about what they do. Most people enjoy answering questions about their job or talking about what they do to people who might be interested. Also don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty -- “field work” is half the fun!

In addition to those featured here, the following EGLE staff participated in this event:

• Noah Rubio, an Environmental Quality Analyst with MMD in the Grand Rapids District Office
• Alicia Kusaka, an Environmental Quality Analyst with AQD in the Grand Rapids District Office
• Koren Carpenter and Martin Morales, staff in DWEHD’s Water Operator Training and Certification Program
• Pam Howd and Eileen Boekestein with ESD’s Environmental Education Program