Hometown: Monroe, CT Involvement: 2016 and 2017 Community Nutrition Programming Intern at the Fairfield County Extension Center in Bethel Career Goal: Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Education: Graduating from UConn in 2019 Why Extension Edited by Stacey Stearns Contact Mike O’Neill, Associate Dean and Associate Director, Extension, Storrs, CT mp.oneill@uconn.edu 860-486-6270 extension.uconn.edu Why nutrition? I spent the summer of 2016 and 2017 interning with Heather Peracchio in the UConn Extension office in Bethel. Heather is an Extension Educator for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education) program. Working with Heather, I developed my skills, and a greater understanding of nutrition. What did you do in your internship? I taught a 4-H program to 2nd-6th graders at a summer school at Shelter Rock Elementary School in Danbury. I also taught the same program to 1st-4th graders at a summer 4-H program in Bridgeport, that also included a gardening component. Over the weeks the kids came in, and were making better food choices at home. I knew they understood what I was teaching them. I learned so much from Heather, taught a lot of classes for youth, and it was a lot of fun to see that I could make a difference. We also prepared and implemented a 10-week gardening and nutrition pro- gram with parents and children in Norwalk, I taught the kids while Heather worked with the parents. What was the most important thing you learned during your internship? How a community processes nutrition information is something you could not learn in a classroom – you have to see it in person to understand it. I enhanced my proficiency in teaching in terms of figuring out how to write a lesson plan, and creatively teach to keep the audience engaged. I improved my public speaking skills, and ability to teach large groups of people. I also led classes at the Danbury Farmers’ Market, where I taught adults. What is your career goal? To become a registered dietitian nutritionist. The internship helped me immensely in figuring out what I want to do. Julia Cobuzzi Community Nutrition Intern 20 2017 HIGHLIGHTS OF EXTENSION