Julia Clough is a University of Rhode Island student majoring in neuroscience and psychology with a minor in leadership studies. She is currently completing an internship with the Farmington Valley Health District.
During her internship, Julia developed two youth tobacco cessation training programs for FVHD. She has delivered one program weekly at a local camp where she previously worked, and the second program is being designed for implementation in schools throughout the Farmington Valley. Julia also completed a literature review on the effectiveness of peer-led interventions related to teen tobacco and THC use, which now serves as the foundation for the school-based training she is developing. Since beginning her internship in June, she has worked steadily to bring these projects from concept to implementation.
Looking ahead, Julia hopes to become a clinical neuropsychologist, combining her interests in neuroscience research, patient care, and teaching. Her internship with FVHD has broadened her perspective and shown her the meaningful impact that research and education can have on public health. She hopes her future work will continue to support public health and that she will remain connected to FVHD as a partner moving forward. One of the highlights of her internship has been the sense of community at FVHD, where she has found a supportive, welcoming environment that feels like family.
Juan Palomino applied for the CT Department of Public Health (DPH) Public Health Fellowship Program in order to learn more about every aspect of public health at the local level and see what public health looks like in practice, rather than in theory. Juan was matched with the Farmington Valley Health District where he completed his internship.
Juan worked on the Workplace Wellness Program and focused on community outreach, reaching out to many different organizations while also creating educational presentations on different health topics. He also worked on an office bulletin board that describes every job position at FVHD and how it all combines to sustain FVHD’s mission, “Prevent disease outbreaks and conditions that give rise to poor health outcomes, promote health programs and policies that support good health, and protect community members from health threats”.
Because of Juan’s experience interning at FVHD and the multiple opportunities he had to shadow inspections, he has a new-found interest in environmental health and being an environmental health inspector. A highlight from his time here was getting to meet each team member. Juan’s favorite part of his entire experience as an intern was being able to sit down and interview everyone in the office about their careers. Not only was he able to learn more as a professional but was also able to learn about everyone at FVHD, and for that he’s very grateful.