Researcher Spotlight - Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Internship Awarded

Gift Chukwuonye is thrilled to share that she has joined the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) as a Spring 2025 Intern in the Watershed Improvement Unit!  In this role, Gift will focus on improving ADEQ’s methodologies for monitoring and remediating contamination from abandoned hardrock mines. Her research will explore innovative ways to use soil data collected with handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers to assess environmental impacts and inform remediation strategies. She will also investigate natural background levels of metals at mine sites and develop recommendations for enhancing soil sampling and analysis.  

As part of her internship, Gift will conduct a literature review on the correlation between soil XRF and stream chemistry data, assist ADEQ hydrogeologists in field sampling at abandoned mine sites, and analyze natural background metal levels. She will also review ADEQ’s current soil data collection methods, providing recommendations for improvement, and develop guidance for selecting representative sampling sites. Additionally, she will create metrics to evaluate the success of soil quality improvements following remediation efforts.  This internship provides Gift an incredible opportunity to apply her environmental science expertise in both field and lab settings, while collaborating with federal agencies like the EPA and U.S. Forest Service. Gift is passionate about environmental justice and public health and looks forward to contributing to impactful and sustainable solutions that protect communities and ecosystems.