Laid Off: Design Intern for the National Park Service
"I'm a big advocate for public transit and preserving nature for future generations, so I was really excited to get this opportunity."
Before we dive in… Laid Off was featured in the New York Times over the weekend! This newsletter started as a scrappy side project — something I wish I had when I was in the thick of it. To see it in the NYT nine months later is… surreal.
The article is about this newsletter, yes, but really it's about the community — the people who’ve shared their layoff stories here, who’ve read them, related to them, passed them along.
This space wouldn’t be what it is without you. We have fun, and I’m endlessly grateful. Thank you for being here, the coolest place on the internet to talk about being laid off.
PS — you might’ve spotted me wearing a Laid Off hat in the article. The hottest new recession core accessory is going to drop this month. Stay tuned.
In today’s issue, I talk to the former design intern for the National Park Service Wanda Felsenhardt on navigating a layoff just weeks into her internship and how she kept going, unpaid, to finish the work that mattered.
Wanda Felsenhardt was barely a month into her design internship with the Office of Public Health and Safety for the National Park Service when the Trump administration signed two executive orders that effectively defunded her job.
She’s currently wrapping up her master’s in design at Virginia Commonwealth University. The internship was funded by a nonprofit that helps students get experience in conservation and environmental work.
First came the headlines. Then the furlough. Then, on February 7th of this year, the layoff email.
“We had all read the news and were waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Wanda said.
Wanda called her dad, who is also a federal employee, as soon as she got the news. “Neither of us were surprised,” she said. “But it was nice to be able to commiserate and joke around with someone who is also weathering the storm of confusing directives.”
After the layoffs, she stuck around anyway. Not for a paycheck this time, but to finish the work she cared about. As a volunteer. “As a rule, I think unpaid internships are a scam,” she said. “But I didn’t want all the work I had already done to go to waste.”
You mentioned your dad is also a federal employee. Has he also been affected by DOGE cuts?
My dad works for a civil rights agency. While he currently hasn't been affected by cuts, the leases of several field offices are being terminated this year so it's definitely still a possibility in the future.
What was the first thing you did after receiving the news?
I had to clock in to work at my second job — on-campus studio monitor for art and design students — so I pretty much continued on with my day as normal. My internship was part-time during the school year, so while it was unfortunate to lose that extra income, I've luckily been able to fill up that gap with additional freelance design work.
Do you know if anyone is still working on the campaigns you did, or are they just dependent on volunteers?
As a volunteer, I'm finishing up an internal digital toolkit this week for motorcycle safety that public information officers at every park can use and adapt for their own digital communications. The campaign will be published mid-May on the main NPS accounts.
We had much more ambitious ideas at the start of my internship, but at this point a digital campaign was all anyone had the bandwidth for. Creating public-facing safety messaging campaigns is only a small part of the Office of Public Health and Safety's work, so without interns I'm not sure what will happen in the future. Here's the main website with the type of messaging I've been working on for reference.
Can you expand a bit on how they asked to keep you on on a volunteer basis?
My manager sent an email to wrap up and say she would be a reference to all of us, and said volunteering was completely optional. As a rule, I think unpaid internships are a scam and no one should do them! And I'm judging any company that offers them. But I didn't want all the work I had already done to go to waste and still wanted something I could add to my portfolio/resume.
My internship was paid, while as a volunteer I reduced the time I contributed to only two to three hours a week just to wrap up the work I was doing.
What were some of the projects you worked on while you were there?
In addition to one-off graphics, I've been working on a safety campaign for motorcyclists for social media. There's a higher percentage of motorcycle deaths in parks compared to the US national average, so this campaign identifies the characteristics that make NPS roads unique, such as tight curves or wildlife.
How did you get into the federal agency space? What was your path to getting the internship?
I previously did a design internship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) where I designed infographics and animated training videos for divers surveying coral reefs. I also interned with the Chicago Transit Authority and volunteered with US Digital Response during the early days of the pandemic. Civic design is something I've always been passionate about and I see a lot of opportunities to improve the systems that people rely on and use every day. I'm a big advocate for public transit and preserving nature for future generations, so I was really excited to get this opportunity.
You are the first intern I'm speaking with for Laid Off. It's a unique experience, especially because this is a stepping stone into a new career or industry. How did that affect your relationship to the job market?
I was definitely caught off guard by the sheer impact of federal funding cuts. Many students who go to VCU were also impacted by cuts to the Department of Education, which caused VCU to not hire for federal work study positions in the spring semester. This has been my first layoff, but as someone working in a creative field, instability and change is something that I've always grappled with. I think design as a career has many applications across different field and industries, so I'm exploring where my path might lead.
Did you personally know any of the VCU students impacted by the cuts to the Department of Education?
One of my friends was planning on starting an on-campus job before being informed of the cancellation of hiring for the Spring semester. I think it's really unfortunate because these types of jobs are usually the most convenient for students' schedules, for getting work experience before trying to find an internship, and for forming deeper connections with other students and mentors.
What was it like to experience a layoff that made headlines?
Because the federal layoffs were so far-reaching and affected so many people doing important work, I can sleep easy at night knowing that my termination isn't a reflection of my work. It was definitely a first to have to parse through an executive order or read panicked discussions on r/nonprofits to try and determine whether I would have a job next week.
What were the posts like in r/nonprofits the week of the layoffs? Why is reddit a go-to source for that kind of info outside of more official channels?
While there are a lot of toxic subreddits, I think the nonprofit subreddit is one of the better organized and highly-moderated communities. It was comforting to see hundreds of other comments from people grappling with funding and job security questions and just expressing their outrage and describing the impact this would have on the communities they serve. I think reddit due to its anonymity allows people to express their emotions more freely, for better or worse.
What are some of your favorite resources for designers early in their career? Online communities or platforms that you find helpful during the job search?
I'm moving to Chicago, and have enjoyed the Chicago Graphic Design Club Discord. I definitely recommend joining your local AIGA or CreativeMorning chapter in your city. Also cold-emailing alumni to ask for an informational interview has been a surprisingly positive experience. Rewriting the Code and Grace Hopper are also great ways to meet other students and network for women in tech. Despite all this, I still doomscroll on LinkedIn, too.
Good luck to all my fellow graduates this semester!
Wanda is open to graphic and digital design roles in the Chicagoland area or remote. She’s also open to freelance or contract work in design or illustration. You can reach her on LinkedIn.
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Very sad times, so many worthy jobs down the drain. I am hoping things will improve in the future.
I’ve been laid off many times due to historic events. Great Recession. Covid shut down. And now tariffs. I work in the least recession proof industry in the world. Furniture for corporate interiors. I spend every day all day on LinkedIn scouring for jobs. I’m trying to get back into construction. I’ve sent out so many resumes / applications. I must land somewhere soon. I found this because of the NYT article. I’ve been getting replies to my applications. I’ve had phone interviews. Zoom interviews. In person interviews. I have more coming up. I’m exhausted. Thank you