Dontae Luttrell: Reflo Internship Introduced Him to Green Infrastructure

Meet Dontae. Dontae Luttrell is a senior at North Division High School who worked as an environmental intern for the nonprofit Reflo in support of Green Tech Station.

His math and art teachers recommended Dontae for the internship. Dontae says in the interview with the team, they liked his spirit. On his first day, he didn’t know what to expect but it ended up being two hours of shoveling gravel to uncover the corner of the Green Tech Station underground cistern. There was something puzzling going on with the cistern’s water level, and the engineers needed the interns to dig it up in order to investigate.

While manual labor is a big part of being a Reflo high school intern, it’s not the only aspect. Dontae also helped lead public tours of Green Tech Station during Doors Open Milwaukee, served as an ambassador for the green schoolyard redevelopment at North Division High School, helped weed and pick up trash at various green infrastructure sites that Reflo supports throughout Milwaukee, and helped table at public outreach events. As one of two North Division student ambassadors, Dontae also served as a key voice interviewed at a press conference where he conducted tours of the refurbished grounds. (He actually helped build another underground cistern at his school. It’s beneath a porous pavement promenade that collects water from the school’s tennis courts.)

Through his work at Green Tech Station, Dontae learned what a bioswale was. He learned how green infrastructure helps keep water from overwhelming the sewer system. But most of all Dontae credits his internship with opening doors for pursuing what he wants out of life. He worked closely with Reflo’s Justin Hegarty, Wilniesha Smith, and Kareem Benson-White during different phases of the internship. He says he appreciates their mentorship. “Now, I think I look at it at a different perspective,” he reflects. “Everything is not going to be given to you. You gotta go get it. Reflo has given me the chance to go get what I want.”

After graduation, Dontae hopes to attend MATC and study music production and wants to save up to attend the LA Film School. For now, you might hear him mixing his own beats and producing his own music from his Chromebook.

Find Dontae (handle: FSO Tae) on Sound Cloud or YouTube. FSO, he says, is short for “Fun Size Only.”