EXCHANGE: SIUE student is also an intern, soldier and mom

Marmolejo, 24, is one of 31 college students to be accepted as interns at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center.

The internship was quite competitive, according to Natalie Marioni, the center's director of environmental education and citizen science.

"Not only did we receive an impressive 151 student applications, but these were high-quality applicants, making it difficult for our selection committee to narrow it down to only the 31 students needed to fill this year's available projects," Marioni said.

All summer, Marmolejo is working with Illinois RiverWatch, a statewide effort to train "citizen scientists" to monitor water quality in wadeable streams.

RiverWatch volunteers collect water samples to track the conditions of waterways, and Marmolejo is among those sorting and identifying macroinvertebrates and conducting statistical analysis of the results.

On Monday, she took a group of kids from a summer camp out to a stream called Watkins Creek to teach them how to gather water samples.

The kids tested the water for phosphates, nitrogen and pH levels, and were able to find evidence that Watkins Creek is in good shape.

GIS jobs are a fast-growing field, Marmolejo said, and she believes the nature of that work will lead to more students seeking to study geography and geographical information systems.

"Through this program, students gain valuable research experience, but they are also exposed to and gain an understanding of the importance of the collaborative nature of institutions like NGRREC at L&C and its various partner organizations," Marioni said.