Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper Internship: Spotlight on Thomas Kodua

In July 2025, Blue Water Baltimore hosted our first-ever cohort of Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper interns for a two-week intensive “bootcamp” style immersive learning experience. The opportunity was generously funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Maryland Department of the Environment under the Healthy Environment, Healthy Communities Grant Program. Hear how the internship helped shape the next generation of Baltimore’s environmental stewards in their own words:

My name is Thomas Kodua studying Geography and Environmental Planning with a minor in Environmental Sustainability at Towson University. My concentration is in planning, and I would like to be an urban/environmental planner in the future. Coming to Blue Water Baltimore for this bootcamp internship has been a great learning experience for me. This is because, through Blue Water Baltimore, I have had the opportunity to experience hands-on the concepts and discussions that I have had with professors in the classroom and with the help of Alice, Barbara, and John I have learnt more about water quality monitoring and what being a Waterkeeper is about.

I have also had the opportunity to learn about Baltimore’s sewer and storm water infrastructures and how that has an impact on our ecosystem, watersheds, and overall health.  

In addition, I was able to learn about how sewage overflows and sewage backups contributes to polluting the harbor and Chesapeake Bay and how sewage backups impact affected households economically. Through this internship, I have gained new knowledge in addition to what I have learnt, and this hands-on experience has given me a new perspective on environmental justice and reforms and how I can approach planning in a sustainable way while protecting the environment.