Interning at 33 Buckets: Reflections from Our Team
33 Buckets is made of small teams of professionals and interns, working together on a mission to provide clean water for families for rural communities in Peru. To name a few, water disinfection systems have been successfully installed, maintained, and updated in our partner communities such as Occopata, Mayrasco, Totora, and Cusibamba.
Our interns reflect on their reasons for being a part of a non-profit with the goal to provide long-term clean water access. Learn about what their specific roles are, what they enjoy about working at a non-profit, and what they’ve learned in their time with us so far.
Project Development Intern
Adam Westmoreland
My name is Adam Westmoreland, and I just wrapped up my first year studying Chemical Engineering with a certificate in Cross-Sector Leadership at Arizona State University.
Early last August, I learned about 33 Buckets’ start as a project within the EPICS and was quickly drawn in by the idea of using technical engineering skills to serve the need for clean water around the globe. I came into my first year with a desire to support the growth of a sustainable environment through green energy and clean water, so I reached out about joining the team, and jumped at the opportunity to join 33 Buckets as a Project Development Intern.
What Is My Role?
The best experiences for me have come this summer as I have been on the ground, designing prototypes and implementing our solutions in Peru. Developing the SICLOP chlorine disinfection system has been a great chance to use real feedback from community assessments & testing in practicing human-centered design.
What Have I Learned?
I’ve learned a large amount about what makes for a successful project; the importance of communication and connection with the communities we work with, how to test different variables and analyze results, researching previous solutions to find strengths and weaknesses in the context of each community’s situation. I love the 33 Buckets mission because, at its core, there is an understanding that stakeholders need to be involved with the solutions. If we really want to bring clean water to each community we work with, we need to know the unique aspects that have created the barrier.
Fundraising & Partnerships Intern
Mara Boiangiu
I’ve been volunteering with nonprofit organizations since I was 12, with my ambitions to provide aid continuing into university as a Neuroscience and Global Health double major on the pre-med track. I wanted to continue humanitarian work, no matter in what respect. So when I heard about 33 Buckets my sophomore year, I was instantly drawn to their mission and commitment to helping others.
What Is My Role?
The wonderful and unique thing about 33 Buckets is how tangible the impact the organization creates is. Each of the smaller teams within 33 Buckets works together to deliver change: from our Fundraising and Marketing Team with donor engagement to our Project Development Team working on new chlorination devices for implementation. Not only is 33 Buckets committed to providing sustainable clean water solutions to communities in Peru, but is also focused on the long-term financial feasibility and maintenance of these implementations.
What Have I Learned?
This part of the 33 Buckets mission statement differs from larger-scale nonprofits as we don’t seek to have continued reliance from the communities we serve but rather aim to create mutually beneficial partnerships through which those we serve are able to receive help but then possess the tools to continue to help themselves. I have learned so much and, I believe, have grown so much from my experience as a Fundraising and Marketing Intern with 33 Buckets and cannot wait to continue working with this incredible organization.
Social Media Intern
Risa Fish
My name is Risa Fish and I am a 3rd-year student at Arizona State University receiving my undergraduate degree in Public Service and Public Policy with certificates in Cross-Sector Leadership as well as Energy and Sustainability.
Ever since I was young, I have been interested in improving the environment and living conditions of those who are impacted by our changing climate. I am on a pre-law track and hope to attend law school to specialize in environmental law and policy. This year when I heard about 33 Buckets, I was immediately the mission of creating human-centered designs to improve water quality and quantity in the districts we partner with. That is crucial in ensuring that the projects we are implementing are ones that the people in the communities are able to continue running and benefiting from.
What is My Role?
My favorite part of being part of the 33 Buckets team has been getting to learn from the diverse group of people that we work with. I think that being able to learn from people that are having similar experiences as you is really important because we all interpret things differently. As a Social Media Intern, my role looks a little different from everyone else. I mostly interact with followers of 33 Buckets while getting the chance to see pictures and videos of what we are doing in Peru. This has allowed me to feel a really special connection to the community and people there, because I have been able to see the work we are doing through their eyes.
What Have I Learned?
Working with 33 Buckets, I have learned that you don’t need to be working for a big corporation to feel like you are doing something important. We are a small non-profit, but we have been able to make huge impacts in the communities we work with which is something about our mission that I think is really important. We focus on empowering community members to utilize our designs for low costs, which other non-profit organizations can neglect.
We have an amazing group of people working together every day to make sure that we are doing everything we can to empower the people of Cusco to utilize the implemented projects for continued access to clean water and sanitation. The fact that such a small group of people, mostly students, can make such a huge difference is really inspiring and I cannot wait to continue learning and growing with 33 Buckets.
UX Design Intern
My name is Margaret Wong, and I am a Master’s student in the Human Systems Engineering program here at ASU, and what drew me into 33 Buckets initially was their aim of improving clean water access through human-centered design. This is the core of what I study in my program, so I was eager to become involved with a non-profit that keeps that as part of its central mission. My role as UX Design intern was born out of a need to improve the website to reflect the growth that 33 Buckets have experienced as a clean water organization.
What is My Role?
Of course, as a small non-profit, my role is pretty collaborative, as I work with other members of the Fundraising and Marketing team to come up with strategies for campaigns to raise money and awareness for implementation trips to our partner communities in Peru. That has been my favorite part of this whole internship experience: The fact that I am able to work with my team members to start a campaign from scratch and raise money to see it translate into actual clean water access for people living thousands of miles away from me.
What Have I Learned?
On top of the hard skills I’ve gained from updating the 33 Buckets website, and the soft skills (e.g. teamwork, fundraising skills, communication, etc.) from working collaboratively with the other interns on our past campaigns, I’ve learned that non-profits can truly achieve their missions with the right team and motivation to persevere.
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