By Amy Dell

As my internship at The Vegetarian Resource Group comes to a close, I’m amazed at all that I accomplished and learned in 8 weeks. I never thought that I would be able to find an internship that would allow me to explore my interests and that would cater my duties so much to my talents.

Before I started the internship, I was given a list of assignments that I would be completing throughout the coming weeks. I was asked to create deadlines for each draft of each assignment on the list. This was a daunting task. I had absolutely no idea how long any of these projects would take, and I was horrified that I’d schedule something in for one day of work time—when it really needed a week. So, I did what any rational person would do. I just guessed. I created goals for myself, solely based on educated guessing. I emailed my due-dates back to my boss, and with a few minor adjustments, I was done with my first task of the summer.

I was excited by the number of projects that were specifically aligned with what I was passionate about. I did film in high school, and one of my tasks was to create a video. I love marketing and design, and another one of my tasks was to create fliers. I’m going to school to study the environment, and I was assigned to create more “Environment” questions for the VRG online quiz . . . you get the idea.

My first day, I walked into the building with my computer, a padfolio, and a purse, and I left with about five pounds of vegan resources and an overview of what my internship would entail. I was introduced to my new best friend (and other intern), Hannah, and I was propelled into a collaborative work environment that I had never seen before. In the office, everyone asks everyone else’s opinion on their work and gets real, actually helpful feedback on it. We work as a team, and our product is better because of it. Communication is key in any workplace, but it really excels here.

My first weekend on the job, I worked at a VRG booth at the Waverly Farmers Market in Baltimore City. In this position, I was able to interact with members of my community, communicate with other organizations, and practice my networking skills. I was able to encourage people to volunteer and answer questions about The VRG and veganism in general. It was rewarding to be able to help people on their path to a healthier diet, especially when I was communicating with young kids because I was so young when I went vegan. Seeing the children get so excited about our coloring book was adorable, and made me want to work more with kids.

It was during that weekend that I also worked with Hannah (the other VRG intern) to cook six vegan casseroles for Our Daily Bread, a charity in Baltimore. Through this project, I was able to give back to my community and contribute to a larger project—feeding hundreds of hungry people.

Another one of my projects was to review new vegan food items for Vegetarian Journal’s “Veggie Bit” column. In order to review a product, I first had to reach out to a company and request samples. This task gave me vital experience in communicating with corporations in a professional manner. Once the product arrived, I would write-up a description and interact with my contact at the company again in order to obtain photos of the product from them. This continued communication with the companies gave me more confidence in my ability to work with large organizations. And the fact that my review will be published in Vegetarian Journal is pretty cool.

I’m also going to be published in Vegetarian Journal with my Vegetarian Action article. In this feature piece, I explored Christopher Place Employment Academy, a rehabilitation and education facility for previously homeless men in Baltimore. I specifically focused on Marcy Schveibinz, the teacher of a healthy cooking class at Christopher Place. This class educates the men in the program about basic cooking techniques, eating vegan, and health-related topics. This project showed me how dedicated individuals can make a lasting impact in the lives of others.

Marcy also accompanied Hannah and me as we presented about vegetarianism to a culinary summer camp. We spent months preparing for the presentation: brainstorming ideas, creating the lesson plan, practicing our discussion points, and making games. When the day finally arrived, it was worth every minute of planning to see the kids playing our games and listening to us speak.

Through my blog posts on the VRG Blog, I’ve been able to share my story with others and answer questions that other teens might have, questions that I would have wanted the answer to when I first became vegan. Writing about my experience becoming vegan and my life since then was kind of surreal. By reflecting on my past years on veganism, I was reintroduced to the reasons why I chose this lifestyle to begin with and how strongly I still feel about them now.

I also assisted a former VRG intern, Casey Brown, on a large-scale project that created vegan meal plans for people on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). We worked to design simple to prepare, inexpensive meals from easily obtainable ingredients. This required knowledge about nutrient requirements, recipe creation, and product pricing.

The most influential project of my internship was when I worked with our R.D., Reed Mangels, on a piece for the “Scientific Update” column in Vegetarian Journal. I had to read and interpret an article from a peer-reviewed scientific journal that related in some way to vegetarianism. Reed assigned me an article on the greenhouse gas emissions of certain diets and worked with me as I wrote the summary. I hope to work as a journalist in the future, analyzing bills and laws pertaining to the environment, and displaying the information in a way that you don’t need a degree in biology to understand. This was amazing practice for that specific career goal.

During my last few weeks at VRG, I was able to work with a VRG vegan volunteer from France named Angelique. It was a very enlightening experience to spend time with someone from a different background and culture from my own. We were able to compare cooking techniques and I was even able to practice my very rusty French I learned in school.

With Angelique, I created a cooking video that detailed a classic vegan French lunch. To do this, I contacted a local church to ask if I could use their kitchen to film, borrowed a camera from my sister-in-law, and compiled a variety of French vegan recipes. I was able to exchange ideas and information with Angelique to make the video as accurate as possible. After filming, I edited the video.

Angelique and I then went to Roots Vegan Fest and had a great day talking to other vegans and supporting the vegan community. Angelique also got to eat her first ever (vegan) doughnut!

I am so grateful for this opportunity, and to Debra, Charles, Gene, Rissa, Hannah, and Angelique for making it such an amazing experience. I learned so much about non-profits, work environments, marketing, communication, and collaboration. I can’t wait to use my new knowledge in the future.

For more information about The Vegetarian Resource Group internships, see VRG internships

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group outreach, donate at Donate to The Vegetarian Resource Group

To join the Vegetarian Resource Group, go to Join The Vegetarian Resource Group