Guest Blog Post by Kiersten Capps, MS, DTR
About four years ago, I learned about interning at Inter-Faith Food Shuttle from a peer at Meredith College. She kept talking about her positive experiences, opportunities to lead classes, and how she made an impact in the community. As a Nutrition and Dietetics student at Meredith College, I understood there was an expectation to gain experience in the field of dietetics while doing well in coursework, and to eventually match with a dietetic internship upon graduation. My first internship at the Food Shuttle was with the Senior Nutrition program during my senior year of undergraduate studies. During this experience, I was able lead volunteer groups, get to know community members who were volunteering their time, and work as part of a team to reach the common goal of feeding those in need.
My second internship with the Food Shuttle was with the Community Health Education (CHE) program during my graduate studies at Meredith College. I had enjoyed interning so much the initial time that I felt confident and reassured that coming back would be a good experience. Returning as a CHE intern challenged me in ways that I had never experienced before outside of the classroom. Of course, I have had assignments that involved creating handouts or infographics for a grade, but they were never actually used practically. Throughout my educational career, we have been strongly encouraged to be confident in our efforts to educate and prepare for the “real world”. However, I think the most confidence in my work came from outside of the classroom and while interning at the Food Shuttle. There is something notably memorable about your own creative and heavily researched educational tools having been selected to be given directly to community members in need.
Comparative to other internships I was involved with during my undergraduate and graduate career, my supervisors at the Food Shuttle trusted my knowledge and ability to lead volunteers and nutrition education classes. They would always ask me if there was more I wanted to get involved in, and they would always try to utilize my strengths while simultaneously meeting the needs of the community we were serving. The Food Shuttle as a whole fosters a warm, positive environment for shy and hesitant students like myself to bloom and evolve into the health educator and/or food justice advocate they desire to become.
Along with valuable, transferrable skills gained from this internship, I also gained a mentor that has supported me in my pursuit of becoming a Registered Dietitian (RD). During my time at the Food Shuttle, Senior Nutrition Programs Manager Chasity Newkirk was always supportive and gave realistic advice for the journey to becoming an RD. Not only is she a fabulous mentor, but she was an excellent preceptor during my CHE internship. At times when I thought I missed the mark on a project or was not doing enough, she would reassure my efforts and would always be open to meeting with me to go over a task or project I was completing. Over the past three years, I have admired Chasity not only as a leader and health educator, but now as a mentor and friend.
As a future Registered Dietitian and an advocate for food sovereignty for all, I hope to take the skills I have learned into whatever career path I go down. I am beyond thrilled to apply the knowledge and experiences gained at the Food Shuttle to my next chapter as a dietetic intern at the Medical University of South Carolina. I have the upmost gratitude for the opportunities the Food Shuttle has given me, and I can not wait to see how they impact food insecurity in North Carolina.