By Danielle Choma, VRG Intern

I am appreciative of my time at The Vegetarian Resource Group in Baltimore, Maryland. During my semester-long internship experience at VRG, I have learned more about veganism and vegetarianism, as well as veggie food options in Baltimore, scientific information about human health, historic themes about veganism and vegetarianism, and strengthened my writing skills and organizational skills.

As a vegetarian myself, I was intrigued to learn some nutritional information about the veggie diet. In addition to learning new scientific nutritional facts that I can apply to myself and my own diet, I was able to learn and discover new vegan recipes

I found this personally helpful to my own health, but it also shed light on the lack of vegetarian education and knowledge that is easily accessible for young individuals. This realization then connected to two others projects I did; finding restaurants near Loyola’s (my college) campus that serve vegan food and what dining services at Loyola provide vegan and vegetarian food options. These projects were most interesting to me as I was learning about the local restaurants and businesses around my college hometown.

During my entire time interning with The Vegetarian Resource Group, I was able to improve and utilize my writing skills. I wrote up blogs about how to become an environmental lawyer, the vegan and vegetarian food options on Loyola’s campus, VRG scholarship entry comparisons, and a restaurant review. Writing blogs is different compared to the academic and research-oriented writing I am used to through Loyola’s coursework. Blogs are much more simplified and written in a conversation-like manner to give ease to the reader.

My organizational skills were also strengthened through my time at The Vegetarian Resource Group. Right off the start of the semester, Charles tasked me to create my own schedule for all of my VRG assignments and projects. In order to create a tentative schedule, I had to incorporate my Loyola coursework, holidays, midterms and exams, my on-campus job schedule, as well as personal life. Creating this schedule allowed me to mesh all of these important areas of my life together so that I was able to put my best work forward quickly and efficiently.

Another project I will be doing with another VRG intern who attends Loyola is participating in Loyola’s Earth Day event. We will set up a table for VRG and talk to our fellow classmates about what VRG is, veganism, and vegetarianism. Overall, I am very grateful for my internship experience this past semester at The Vegetarian Recourse Group!

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