Laura Szpir, Summer/Fall 2010
I completed an internship with NC Prevention Partners to help me explore a possible career change to the public health field. During my internship, I provided support to NCPP’s Zone Health school-based childhood obesity prevention program. I conducted a needs assessment on school employee wellness, researched school employee wellness policies, and wrote newsletter articles highlighting successful student nutrition and physical activity policies in K-12 schools. The internship experience increased my knowledge of the role of policy in creating societal change. It broadened my knowledge of chronic disease prevention, particularly worksite and school-based interventions at the policy/environment level, and also exposed me to the workings of a nonprofit organization. It was a pleasure interacting with NCPP staff and other interns. Great effort is made towards making the interns feel welcomed, appreciated, and part of the team.
Regina Devers, Fall 2010
My internship with NCPP has been a rewarding educational and professional experience. I have gained new insight into the many ways that nonprofit public health organizations are making substantial improvements in public health infrastructure. Working with the Highway to Health research study gave me hands on experience that allow me to utilize my skills and knowledge while cultivating my professional growth. NCPP’s mission and values are embedded into the culture of the organization which encourages healthy eating habits and time for fun group exercising activities. This culture of wellness has helped me incorporate more healthy habits into my personal life, resulting in the lost of 8lbs during my internship. I have observed effective leadership and organized program planning in its highest form and I have developed lifelong friendships that I will take with me as I transition into the next level of my career.
Alex Teng, Summer 2010
As a public policy major with a concentration in health policy at Duke University, I have a keen interest in the science and administrative functions of health production. I applied and joined the NCPP team with the hope of not only contributing to its programs but also assisting in business development issues which enable progress. Although time constraints forced me to miss the greater portion of orientation, the work environment put me at ease, and I was able to jump right in and provide input. I was fortunate to work in two areas at NCPP: Quit Tobacco and Business Development. In the former, I assisted in the development of a systems assessment tool as well as provided research in areas such as mental health tobacco use. In the latter, I lead an effort to value the Starting the Conversation Series and rework the membership benefits package. I found the staff to be welcoming and friendly. During meetings, my thoughts were valued and considered. The internship was well structured and enabled me to monitor my contributions. Overall, it was refreshing to work with an organization that not only possessed a personal commitment to work-site wellness but also a strong track record of influencing institutions to adopt NCPP’s passion for public health.
Claudia De Oliveira, Summer 2010
I decided to apply for my internship at NCPP because I was looking for an organization that worked with health prevention with interventions directed beyond the individual level. I found that NCPP has many projects with a great focus on policy and administrative levels that helps other organizations to promote wellness offering evidence-based recommendations and guidance. The principles of worksite wellness that NCPP promotes with their partners are 100% applied in house. They are a very genuine organization and very loyal to their wellness principles, incorporating them in their daily work routine either as a half-hour of exercise or cultivating a very healthy food environment. During my internship I got to work on a few different projects and they were all interrelated and complementary. NCPP has very well structured internship and I had a very good mentored experience. My supervisor was very respectful of my learning interests as an intern and I felt very comfortable in the team contributing with my ideas and work. I think NCPP is a great place to work and apply all the theoretical knowledge we get from school and to see how we can make public health initiatives that can really make a difference.
Lindsay Herendeen 2010
NC Prevention Partners offers a work environment that is collaborative, foward-thinking, and wellness-focused. As a Master's of Public Health student in Health Behavior and Health Education at UNC, NCPP provided a rewarding, supportive environment to use my skills and competencies and to translate my knowledge into practice. I worked with the Zone Health program, a school-based childhood obesity prevention project, to complete a needs assessment on school staff wellness and to update assessment and evaluation tools.
My main motivation for completing an Internship with NCPP was to gain experience working at the environmental/policy levels of change. The experience has been rewarding and has provided an opportunity to experience public health in action. I have gained an appreciation for the importance and complexities of school and worksite-based health interventions. It has also been beneficial to work alongside NCPP's staff and interns passionate about prevention and wellness, but able to achieve a work-family-life balance.
Amy Meador 2010
I had an incredible summer interning with NCPP. I had the opportunity to see in action many of the concepts I am learning as a master's student in public health, everything from behavior theory to effective dissemination strategies. Most of my work was with the Quit-Tobacco team but I also had the chance to work on independent projects relating to the Veterans Affairs tobacco-free policies and researching the potential for faith communities to become a new sector for NCPP's prevention efforts. I appreciated that NCPP took seriously the role of a mentored field placement, while at the same time promoting an atmosphere of collegiality and mutual respect.
Katie Becofsky, Spring 2010
As a graduate student in Kinesiology at UNC-Greensboro, I was searching for an internship site that would introduce me to the field of public health, but also allow me to focus on my area of interest - physical activity. NC Prevention Partners turned out to be just the organization I was looking for, as I worked primarily in worksite physical activity promotion during my time in Chapel Hill. My major responsibilities included compiling and creating resources for employers seeking to help their employees become more physically active.
The NCPP office is a friendly, healthy, fast-paced atmosphere. In my opinion, the greatest part of being an intern at NCPP is that you feel really appreciated. NCPP makes it well known that interns are an integral part of their success, and real responsibility is placed on interns' shoulders. That being said, you have to be self-motivated and organized to do well here! If you work hard during your internship, both you and NCPP really benefit - your work helps NCPP accomplish its mission of improving the health and well being of Carolinians, and you walk away with great public health, non-profit work experience under your belt.
Rebecca Salman, Fall 2009
I first decided to apply to NC Prevention Partners to examine the options available in public health. As a biology major, I had previously worked in research labs on a smaller scale. Participating in community projects such as Zone Health and the Healthy Foods in Hospitals Project gave me an entirely new perspective regarding health career options. NC Prevention Partners is a viable and successful program devoted to changing the lives of people in North Carolina. Immense progress has been made in achieving their stated goals because of the dedicated, hard-working and enthusiastic employees. One of the most enjoyable things about working with NC Prevention Partners is that I was made to feel as though I was a valuable member of their team.
Throughout my semester as an Intern at NC Prevention Partners, I developed invaluable skills to help me in any career path I choose to take. I was able to sit in and contribute to weekly team meetings, research topics related to my project and work with various computer programs in the field of nutrition. One of the most exciting projects I worked on was the Recipe Database, a comprehensive database in which hospitals will be able to contribute, rate, and discuss nutritional recipes for use within their institutions. This database will hopefully make it easier for hospitals to provide healthy recipes for their patients, employees and visitors. My semester at NC Prevention Partners was exciting and informative and provided me with the opportunity to experience firsthand innovative and creative ways to make a difference in the lives of people throughout our state.
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