By Lauren Capano

I interned with the Vegetarian Resource Group to complete the final 80 hours of my Dietetic Internship with the College of Saint Elizabeth. The VRG gave me the opportunity to finish out my work remotely following a medical emergency. My preceptors were extremely accommodating to my schedule and erased any stress that I had about not being able to complete my internship. It is thanks to this opportunity that I will be moving forward with my Dietetic career in a timely fashion.

My time with VRG greatly improved my skills in nutrition writing. I’ve learned how to translate nutrition research into an accessible format for people without a nutrition background. Reed Mangels (VRG’s Nutrition Advisor) challenged me to write pieces that the lay public will not only understand but relate to and be able to apply the lessons to their own lives. Her guidance through the editing process from scientific writing to plain-English blog post was critical to my success, and with her help I will be published (for the first time) in print editions of the Vegetarian Journal in the future! These writing lessons will accompany me for the entirety of my career in Dietetics because I believe that information and research is ineffective unless people are able to incorporate the findings into their lives, which they cannot do without first understanding the results.

While interning with VRG I also was able to participate in the ongoing Vegan SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) project created by a past VRG intern. I found this project to be a challenging, but important endeavor as it will hopefully guide many SNAP-dependent and budget-conscious vegans in their purchasing habits in the future. These guides are going to help people maintain the integrity of their dietary choices while also ensuring proper nutrition and preventing deficiencies. Providing a professional guide for vegans will hopefully help relieve the additional stress placed on them by a society that questions their nutritional adequacy. I hope my efforts in refining the menus were helpful and that with the help of future interns, the project will be seen through to completion and put out into the public as a resource for those who need it.

I appreciate everything that I have learned while at the VRG and most importantly the people who I came into contact with – all of whom were friendly, knowledgeable, dedicated, and helpful. I will continue to refer to VRG with future questions and input in the future, and will definitely recommend it as a reliable resource to my friends, family, and future clients/patients.

For information about The Vegetarian Resource Group internships, see: https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php

To support VRG outreach and education, donate at: www.vrg.org/donate