My Career in Water Management: Impact of a Non-Profit Internship
It is about once a week that I remember the day I told my best friend in college: “I’ll work on anything but water projects, I’m just not interested”. Fast forward seven years later and water is all I do. But my journey wasn’t clear to me when I first started, my path has happened serendipitously. I graduated with a civil/environmental engineering degree from Arizona State University in 2017. Since starting my degree, I’ve traveled to India and Peru (with 33 Buckets) working on water projects in rural areas. Now I sit in my flat, looking out to the gloomy street in Oxford, England, where I am studying a Master’s in Water Management and Policy at the University of Oxford. I have 33 Buckets to thank for helping guide the path that I’m on.
Our current Research & Development Consultant, former intern, Marisol Luna Aguero, writes about how she came to follow a path to water management and policy through her experiences interning at 33 Buckets and visiting Peru one impactful summer in 2019.
Selfie taken in Huilcapata, Peru in 2019 in a visit to a previous project site
I joined 33 Buckets in August 2017, shortly after graduating from ASU. At this time, the team was much smaller - there were no interns yet. In fact, the first round of interns was hired a few weeks after I joined in. Most of us are still involved and committed to the organization. Over the past four years, the organization has grown tremendously. I’m very proud of the work that 33 Buckets continues to do. In reality, 33 Buckets is one of the main reasons why I left my engineering job after four years and decided to dive deeper into learning about water management.
Photo taken in Mollemolle, Peru in 2019 at project site
“ After coming back from Peru in 2019 with the organization, I knew I wanted to have a career that addressed water access issues around the world. ”
After coming back from Peru in 2019 with the organization, I knew I wanted to have a career that addressed water access issues around the world. It is the type of work we do at 33 Buckets that truly fulfills me. The issue of water security and lack of access is one of the most pressing right now. Access to clean water leads to a better environment, healthy communities, and economic development. This is what led me to Oxford. Currently, I’m working to study the governance barriers that hinder water access and sustainable water management. One of the most important aspects of how water is managed at the individual and community level is how people value water. At 33 buckets, a huge part of our work is that it teaches the communities starting from the school children to value water. My favorite memories from our trips to Peru are engaging with the children and teaching them about water quality and the water systems. For example in the community of Mollemolle, where we took some of the class to the reservoir and on top of it taught them how it works but also learned about their everyday interactions with water and what it means to them. They are always excited to learn about. And that’s how we’re helping to cultivate communities that value the importance of having access to clean water and the impacts on everyday life.
Photo taken after matriculation (welcome ceremony) at Oxford
After completing my time in Oxford, I hope to continue working across the world to help communities reach water security and sustainable manage their water systems.
Learn about our projects with partner communities from that summer: Pucara, Occopata, and Mollemolle.
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