Internship - Pasantía

During my semester abroad, I completed a six-week internship through the municipal Department of Agriculture. For this work, I moved to Tabacundo, a small rural town about 40 miles north of Quito. Because my internship was not directly-health related, I had to work hard to find ways to connect my work with agriculture to my experience in nutrition and public health. I was able to bring an interesting perspective to my role, and learned a lot about how agriculture is directly related to community and public health, especially regarding environmental health and nutrition. I enjoyed the hands-on learning approach, and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to work with people in the community and from around the world. One of my favorite projects was nutrition and sustainability education at a local school. I, along with some other volunteers, taught weekly classes to children to help them be more educated about and involved with the function and importance of community gardens, such as the one we built behind the school. 

 

I enjoyed my time in Tabacundo and am very grateful for the opportunities I had there. I hope to use my knowledge of agroecology, education skills, and land development experience to help communities increase their nutritional health and agricultural sustainability in my future career.