Source: The Washington Post  While many of her peers have
congressional internships or jobs that have kept them inside air
conditioned office buildings, Kelsey Stafford has spent her
summer working outdoors examining the environment of the
nation’s capital. As an intern with the National Park Service,
Stafford has been monitoring the water quality of 10 streams
along the George Washington Memorial Parkway. These streams,
which include Spout Run in Arlington, feed into the Potomac
River and ultimately affect the area’s drinking water. Erik
Oberg, who supervises Stafford, said the 12-week Student
Conservation Association internship “introduces bright and
enthusiastic young people to careers with the Park Service,
while also empowering them to become the scientists of the
future.” Stafford and her colleague Michael Wills have braved
the summer’s record-breaking heat to conduct regular testing on
the water chemistry and biology of each stream. They have tested
for chlorine, phosphorus and nitrates in the water an