The Intern

Bailee had a pretty cool experience this semester. She participated in the PWR (Postsecondary and Workforce Ready) internship program with the school district. Students are selected through a strict application process and are then placed with an employer in Northern Colorado based on their interests and future career plans. Bailee is planning to pursue a degree in the medical field and was placed with UC Health and the Healthy Hearts Program. The office is housed at Medical Center of the Rockies, although she was primarily at various schools. She was always telling us new facts about heart health. 

A firsthand account of the intern experience (per the intern herself):

As a Healthy Heart intern I was able to go into different classrooms in our school district and participate in their education program that typically included three days learning about our hearts and things we can do to prevent heart disease. At the end of the unit, students and teachers were given the opportunity to have their health screenings done. This was also a really neat procedure that I got to be part of. My job mainly consisted of pricking people's fingers to take blood and test their cholesterol levels, taking their height, weight, and blood pressure, and then walking them through what their numbers meant. I really enjoyed getting to talk with the students and listen to their take on heart health and feel like I was influencing a younger population to have a long and healthy life by making lifestyle adjustments. 

I had the opportunity to work in the community gardens near my school as part of my internship hours. This is a place where anyone in our community can come help plant vegetables and herbs and reap the benefits from participating. This was just fun to see everything come full circle. Helping in the garden was fun and it also provides families with healthy foods. 

To conclude my internship we were asked to present what we learned at the district offices where important school board representatives were able to come and see the results of the program they had created. It was really great to be able to share my experience with other community members and recognize things I had gained from this experience.