By Katelynn Budzich, VRG Intern

As an Environmental & Sustainability Studies minor at Loyola University Maryland, a requirement is to complete a capstone project. I was excited about this course because it would be an opportunity to use what I have learned in my classes, as well as, participate in something related to my interests in environmental causes. I first came across an internship position at The Vegetarian Resource Group from a list of places my professor (who runs the minor) sent out. The list included some environmental focused work opportunities. However, the one that stood out to me was The Vegetarian Resource Group. My two passions in life are food and writing. Thus, The VRG was a perfect amalgamation of the two.

     All of the experiences I read online that other interns had, sounded amazing, so I was excited to potentially find myself doing similar work. However, as an intern during the Fall 2020 semester of my senior year, COVID-19 became a reality and changed what my internship experience at The Vegetarian Resource Group would look like. There were certain projects that I could no longer complete, seeing that everything was now virtual and had to be catered to online work. At first, I was worried I would miss out on some great opportunities, yet, after filling out my project schedule, I knew I was going to enjoy my time at The Vegetarian Resource Group because despite restrictions, all of the projects were right up my alley and seemed like great learning experiences.

     I worked on many projects related to my love of food and major in marketing. One article included reviewing a local restaurant in Maryland that serves vegan food. I chose a restaurant located in a food hall that my friends and I always go to. Every time I am there, I always pass over the vegan restaurant, but I am glad I finally had an excuse to try the food at that stall because it was delicious. After seeing what I ordered, some of my friends who are not vegan or vegetarian even ordered food from there when we went to the food hall again. This article was a great moment for myself as well as the people around me to better understand the possibilities of vegan food and how great the quality can be.

     I was also tasked with completing a book review that combined business lessons, veganism, and social responsibility. This project was a breath of fresh air because it was the one time in my day where I didn’t have to look at a screen and I could enjoy a good book. The book gave a lot of great tips on how to start and run a business that will stay with me beyond my time at The Vegetarian Resource Group.

     Some other fun projects I worked on were product reviews, an article on differing opinions on vegan commercials, and designing an advertisement for The Vegetarian Resource Group. The product reviews were such a fun experience because I got all of my friends involved and we tried the items together. They all tasted great and afterword, I did a short write-up on what we sampled. Next, when I was working on creating an article that shared vegans’, vegetarians’, and non-vegetarians’ opinions on vegan ads, I researched vegan commercials and contacted other interns and volunteers to participate, which was a great experience gathering and working with other volunteers from The VRG. I then asked all of the volunteers to watch the commercials and send back to me what they thought about them from the perspective of people with different eating habits, which I composed into an article. One more really fun project I completed was designing an advertisement to join The Vegetarian Resource Group. This was an opportunity where I could use some of my marketing skills and be creative, which I really enjoyed.

     My internship at The Vegetarian Resource Group was an amazing opportunity, especially during such a turbulent time. I have recently found an interest in going into the editorial or publishing industry after I graduate college, so my time at The Vegetarian Resource Group was a perfect introduction into that world. I learned so much about healthy eating, improved my writing abilities, and had the chance to put my marketing knowledge to use. Thank you to everyone I have worked with. The work I did and my time at The VRG made a disrupted senior year into a very memorable one.

For information on VRG internships, see: https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php

To donate to The Vegetarian Resource Group, visit: vrg.org/donate