Gov. Mike Easley recently announced that two UNC Asheville students are among 80 college, graduate and law school students recently selected for 10-week summer internships with state agencies. Senior environmental studies major Kari Metcalf, of Fairview, is working at the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Office of Environmental Quality. Mike Patterson, a junior multimedia arts and sciences major from Chapel Hill, is completing his internship at the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources’ Historic Resources Office.

While at the Office of Environmental Quality, Metcalf is helping to promote the agency’s environmental stewardship and streamlining initiatives. She is assisting with researching and updating the current environmental goals, procedures and practices within the Department of Transportation. She is also analyzing data collected from environmental workshops and training sessions to find positive results and areas of improvement.

“I most enjoy learning what initiatives are effective within the department and how to implement new methods support environmentally sound decisions within such a complex administration,” Metcalf said.

Patterson is spending his summer creating a virtual exhibit on the history of North Carolina music, which will soon be available online. The site will include photographs, maps and audio files from the State Archives. Because Patterson enjoys both music and history, and he’s especially excited about the opportunity to work on such a project.

“I feel proud that the work I am doing will educate a lot of people on an important subject,” said Patterson. “The project will also help draw attention to the State Archives, which is really an interesting place.”

Six hundred students from 82 counties and 79 colleges and universities applied for positions through the N.C. State Government Internship Program, now in its 36th year.