Spring Break
Student interns reflect on experiences
by Miranda Neubauer
Senior Writer
News | 11/18/08
Posted online at 4:31 AM EST on 11/18/08
Waltham nonprofit organizations joined Brandeis students and faculty Tuesday in a workshop co-sponsored by the Community-Engaged Learning program and the Health: Science, Society and Policy program to explore increased collaboration between community groups and Brandeis students through class projects and internships in the area of community health.
Prof. Thomas Mackie (Heller) explained that hands-on experience is required for all HSSP majors. As an example, he introduced Elaine Chan '09, who completed an internship this summer at Project Health, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the connection between poverty and health problems by addressing concerns such as lack of food, high prices for heating and other utilities and access to housing.
She presented her internship structure as a model for future projects that involve nonprofits and Brandeis students. During her internship, student-run coordinators acted as supervisors, and the program involved orientation and weekly reflection sessions, where students and supervisors discussed difficult interactions the interns encountered.
Several Waltham-area nonprofit organizations invited by the organizers subsequently presented their work and the specific health challenges they address.
Judy Fallows, project director for Healthy Waltham, an organization that addresses the environmental, economic and social factors of health, explained that in one project focused on healthful eating the organization helped to grow a garden at a local middle school. She pointed out that "keeping … things alive in gardens over the summer" could be another task for interns. Other projects could exist to help youth avoid risks such as substance abuse, cyberbullying and depression by mentoring students to avoid peer pressure and do well academically. "You guys are all potential supports in schools," she said.
Professors, students and community members recognized many challenges in realizing their goal of collaboration with classes and emphasized the need for the kind of reflection opportunity that Chan's internship offered. "As the instructor of the class 'Women in the HealthCare System,' it would be a tremendous assistance, if ever a percentage of those students had seen what … a clinic [is like]," Prof. Lorraine Klerman (HELLER) said. "I can't go out there and organize it, [but] I'd be willing to do the reflective part at the end."
Prof. Thomas Mackie (Heller) explained that hands-on experience is required for all HSSP majors. As an example, he introduced Elaine Chan '09, who completed an internship this summer at Project Health, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the connection between poverty and health problems by addressing concerns such as lack of food, high prices for heating and other utilities and access to housing.
She presented her internship structure as a model for future projects that involve nonprofits and Brandeis students. During her internship, student-run coordinators acted as supervisors, and the program involved orientation and weekly reflection sessions, where students and supervisors discussed difficult interactions the interns encountered.
Several Waltham-area nonprofit organizations invited by the organizers subsequently presented their work and the specific health challenges they address.
Judy Fallows, project director for Healthy Waltham, an organization that addresses the environmental, economic and social factors of health, explained that in one project focused on healthful eating the organization helped to grow a garden at a local middle school. She pointed out that "keeping … things alive in gardens over the summer" could be another task for interns. Other projects could exist to help youth avoid risks such as substance abuse, cyberbullying and depression by mentoring students to avoid peer pressure and do well academically. "You guys are all potential supports in schools," she said.
Professors, students and community members recognized many challenges in realizing their goal of collaboration with classes and emphasized the need for the kind of reflection opportunity that Chan's internship offered. "As the instructor of the class 'Women in the HealthCare System,' it would be a tremendous assistance, if ever a percentage of those students had seen what … a clinic [is like]," Prof. Lorraine Klerman (HELLER) said. "I can't go out there and organize it, [but] I'd be willing to do the reflective part at the end."
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