Practical Experience

​

​

       During my internship, I had so many incredible learning experiences related to the Health Education field. Not only that, but I also got to make a difference in the community that I was born in and grew up in, Martin County, Florida. I divided my time between the Family Nutrition Program office and the Extension Office. Both of these settings provided unique opportunities to learn and work with a variety of people while simultaneously becoming more familiar with the residents and sights of the place I spent my entire life before attending college.

 

      At the Family Nutrition office, I helped prepare materials for nutrition education presentations and was even given the opportunity to teach on my own with the supervision of an employee. This office serves SNAP recipients of all ages, allowing me to help at schools, summer camps, adult day care centers and community centers. We provided lessons relating to MyPlate, Germs, Physical Activity and more. The majority of my time was spent researching, writing and presenting nutrition material, laminating, finding foods and preparing food samples. Lastly, I initiated a grocery store tour program and was the first to lead it.

​

     At the Extension office, I assisted with a variety of tasks relating to Sea Grant, 4H Youth Development, Master Gardeners, sustainability, and agritourism. Some of these tasks included researching materials for events, attending lectures on environmental issues, teaching kids about gardening and assisting with set up and break down of farm event. Because the  Extension office works with the County as well as UF, I was able to learn a lot about these two entities and the incredible work that they do. I also was given autonomy to organize my own environmental awareness event with the intention of engaging youth in Extension and local environmental issues.

​

      This internship gave me invaluable experience working with a variety of populations, especially low income populations that I was never familiar with during the 18 years I lived here before moving to Gainesville. I learned about workplace structure (and drama) and how to be a team player. I am extremely grateful for this wonderful opportunity!

​

​