{"id":2977,"date":"2026-03-25T09:24:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T16:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=2977"},"modified":"2026-03-30T08:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:53:10","slug":"job-shadow-lily-vanwingerden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/job-shadow-lily-vanwingerden\/","title":{"rendered":"Six hours. One job shadow. Dozens of career paths."},"content":{"rendered":"
Editor\u2019s note:<\/strong> This article was\u00a0originally published<\/a> in March 2026 by Oregon State University\u2019s Career Development Center.<\/div>\n

A summer job shadow experience helped one online student see what her future in environmental science could really look like<\/h2>\n

Lily VanWingerden signed up for Oregon State University\u2019s summer Job Shadow Program<\/a> expecting a 30-minute Zoom call where she might get insights on what she could do with her degree in environmental sciences \u2014 and instead walked away from a full day of friendly conversations that reshaped the way she thought about careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing the job shadow was about a bajillion times more helpful than I could have imagined,\u201d she said. \u201cIt showed me not just a field that I could work in, but also glimpses of all the particular little jobs within it. In terms of career planning, it gave me a better sense of what I could even be aiming for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those insights couldn\u2019t have come at a better time. When Lily first learned about the Job Shadow Program, she\u2019d been admitted to the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences<\/span><\/a> but hadn\u2019t yet begun her first term. A transfer student from New Jersey learning online with Oregon State, Lily was eager to find connection within her new university and interested in where her major in environmental sciences<\/span><\/a>\u00a0might take her.<\/p>\n

A chance to see what’s possible<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons I chose OSU, and this particular program, was because I was interested in seeing all the different facets I might explore,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted online learning, but it should still have the interactive component that I’d get if I was on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just at this in-between phase, she got an e-newsletter advertising the Job Shadow Program, and was excited to read that many Oregon State job shadow hosts are happy to host virtual meetings for students anywhere in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw that it was not only open to Ecampus students, but that it was also open to first-year transfer students, that felt amazing,\u201d Lily said. \u201cIt was like, such a special gift that it wasn\u2019t just restricted to people who are on campus. Seeing as I wasn’t even taking classes yet, it already felt so welcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lily wasn\u2019t sure how much competition there would be for the job shadow opportunities related to the environment and natural resources, but she decided to give it a shot. \u201cI thought, let me just put in an application and see what happens!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

After submitting her top choices, she forgot all about it \u2014 until she got another email a few months later, this one informing her that she\u2019d been matched with a host, Natalie Hardwicke with Oregon Tilth<\/span><\/a>, an organic certification and education organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was kind of the cool part, learning that you\u2019re hand-matched to a host,\u201d Lily said. \u201cIt felt nice that someone has looked at it and said, \u2018Oh, you\u2019d be a good fit to learn from these people.\u2019 That it wasn\u2019t just a robot randomly assigning you into buckets.\u201d<\/p>\n

After emailing her host and confirming the date of her experience, she expected to hear back confirming a time for a 30- or 60-minute Zoom meeting; instead, her host replied that she\u2019d send an agenda later in the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like \u2026 agenda? That seems fancy!\u201d Lily recalled. \u201cBut it was still a month or two away, so I didn\u2019t think too much about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Want to do a job shadow? Here’s how it works<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Browse available host listings<\/a>:<\/strong> You can see which hosts are available in fields you\u2019re interested in, what types of experiences they are offering,\u00a0 and which hosts are available to host either in-person or virtually.
\n2. Fill out an application:<\/strong> For the 2026 Job Shadow Program<\/a>, applications are due May 1.
\n3. Get matched:<\/strong> You\u2019ll hear back by May 8.
\n4. Prepare:<\/strong> Students are required to attend an online orientation in mid-May.
\n5. Complete your job shadow:<\/strong> Job shadows take place during the summer at a time that is convenient for both the student and the host.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Inside a working organization<\/b><\/h3>\n

As August 1, the date of her job shadow, neared, her host did indeed send out a detailed agenda: six hours full of meetings with multiple people doing different jobs throughout the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just like if I\u2019d driven to an Oregon Tilth headquarters, and she walked me around to different people\u2019s offices, and we popped in and out and talked with different people throughout the day. It was just like that, but instead of physical rooms it was Microsoft Teams rooms,\u201d Lily said.<\/p>\n

Lily talked with people who did inspection and certification work on organic farms; people in communications; people whose work involved education and advocacy; and people with jobs she hadn\u2019t even known existed before her day spent virtually visiting Oregon Tilth. She learned their career paths, job titles and the skills needed to get those jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ended up being so helpful,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like,\u00a0<\/b>with environmental science, when you look up job advice, it’s like, what can I do with an environmental science degree? It’s like, you can be an environmental scientist. You work in a national park, and you take water samples. And I’m like, OK, there’s got to be more than this. This gave me so much more detail in terms of career planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was surprised to learn that though Oregon Tilth\u2019s main office is in Corvallis, not all the people she met were based in Oregon. Some worked remotely, some were on-site and some traveled around the country to certify different farms and organic production facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a remote student, it was kind of cool to see people working remote jobs, especially because when I think of agriculture, I think of being on the ground, of digging in the soil. It feels like you’re definitely tied to a certain place,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was good to see that even within one company, there’s actually a lot of different opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now a junior on her way to earning her B.S. in Environmental Sciences with an online GIScience undergraduate certificate<\/a>, Lily remains grateful for the chance to spend a day speaking to multiple people with careers related to caring for the Earth, who all arrived at their current jobs in their own unique ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re at the beginning of your own career journey, it\u2019s nice to see that all these people had completely different paths,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t have to have it exactly figured out right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Learn more about applying to Oregon State University’s Job Shadow Program, which gives current students \u2014 including online learners \u2014 an opportunity to explore potential career paths by shadowing someone in their place of work.<\/em><\/p>\n

Apply to the Job Shadow Program<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 4<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>Lily VanWingerden signed up for\u00a0Oregon State University\u2019s summer Job Shadow Program expecting a 30-minute Zoom call. Instead, she walked away from a full day of friendly virtual conversations that reshaped the way she thought about environmental sciences careers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":2978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,672,677,8,676],"tags":[692,196,205,146],"class_list":["post-2977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-learning-experience","category-students-and-alumni","category-students","category-why-osu","tag-career-outcomes","tag-career-services","tag-college-of-earth-ocean-and-atmospheric-sciences","tag-environmental-sciences"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Lily-Vanwingerden-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-M1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2163,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/environmental-sciences-online-masters-kaitlin-thurman\/","url_meta":{"origin":2977,"position":0},"title":"Environmental sciences online master\u2019s program yields career rewards for graduate","author":"Tracy Scott","date":"November 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When she retraces the path that led to her current role as an environmental analyst for local government, Kaitlin Thurman points to four ways Oregon State Ecampus and its environmental sciences master's program helped make her dream a reality.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kaitlin Thurman, a master's in environmental sciences graduate, wearing a cap and gown","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kaitlin-Thurman-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kaitlin-Thurman-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kaitlin-Thurman-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kaitlin-Thurman-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":303,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/americas-natural-resources-university-oregon-state-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":2977,"position":1},"title":"America’s natural resources university | Oregon State University","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"May 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State University is America's natural resources university, where our world-class faculty and forward-thinking students work collaboratively to protect our planet and help it thrive. And now you can join the cause by earning your Oregon State degree online. OSU Ecampus is a national leader in online education, delivering a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A hiker stands on a dry, rocky terrain looking out into the distance.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/anru-home.jpg?fit=658%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/anru-home.jpg?fit=658%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/anru-home.jpg?fit=658%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2077,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oregon-state-everywhere-justin-nelson\/","url_meta":{"origin":2977,"position":2},"title":"Oregon State Everywhere: ‘Consider where you want to go, not where you are’","author":"Justin Nelson","date":"August 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Justin Nelson says the topics covered in Oregon State's online environmental sciences master's degree program are ideal for helping students who want to change careers \"break into new markets and industries.\" Earning a master's led Justin to a new role working in corporate sustainability strategy.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Justin-Nelson-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Justin-Nelson-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Justin-Nelson-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Justin-Nelson-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1048,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/environmental-sciences-online-alum-finds-support-with-on-campus-native-community\/","url_meta":{"origin":2977,"position":3},"title":"Environmental sciences online alum finds support, family with on-campus Native community","author":"Heather Doherty","date":"October 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Orman Morton III felt at home at OSU's Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws, building on the virtual connections he had made with the university\u2019s indigenous community as an online student.","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Orman hugs a Native elder whom he met at the Oregon State University Native American Longhouse Eena Haws.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Orman-Morton.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Orman-Morton.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Orman-Morton.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Orman-Morton.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2051,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/osu-everywhere-matt-bowling\/","url_meta":{"origin":2977,"position":4},"title":"Oregon State Everywhere: ‘Education is an investment in yourself, and you are worth it’","author":"Matt Bowling","date":"July 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Here's my advice to anyone who is considering going back to school: Go for it! 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