Creating a Vegan World
Clarissa Hauber
VRG Virtual Internship
My high school internship with The VRG was a fantastic experience. Having been vegetarian for three years and vegan for about a year, I knew I wanted to get more involved with the veggie community but was unsure how. Interning for VRG was the perfect opportunity. It allowed me to get involved, discover interests within the food studies field, and develop critical workplace skills.
I helped with writing up entries for The VRG online restaurant guide—researching a different restaurant each week and filling out a template with the restaurant type, address, menu, etc. Working on the restaurant guide was simple, but with each entry, I felt productive. Not to mention how great it was to see all the unique vegan dishes that so many restaurants had to offer.
Not long after, I began writing my first article. The topic was a teen FAQ, and I wrote about being vegan while living in an omnivorous household. It proved to be a valuable experience in developing my writing voice. In the article, I talked about my own experience and provided the reader with steps to do the same. I even had two of my vegan friends provide some of their own insights! Check it out at vrg.org/blog/2020/10/26/teen-faq-how-does-one-go-vegan-in-a-meat-eating-household
One aspect of the internship that I enjoyed was how centralized it was around cooking. I got to write for the Veggie Bits column of Vegan Journal. The first review I did was on four different variations of a veggie-based pasta. I was able to cook each pasta and write a review at the end. I also tested Journal recipes and provided feedback. Some of my favorite dishes that I tried were a BLT made from rice paper, tofu benedict with hollandaise sauce, and maple oat milk popsicles!
While the internship was virtual, I still had great opportunities to collaborate with others and develop strong online communication skills. In one instance, another intern reached out to me, asking for my opinion on some vegan food advertisements. On another occasion, I compared the experiences of three vegan teens in different regions of the United States and compiled their and my own answers into an article. It was a unique experience, as I got to talk to fellow vegan teens and gain insight into what it's like to be vegan in different parts of the country.
Whether I was writing cookbook reviews, restaurant reviews, essay commentary, and articles or was testing new recipes—my internship at VRG was an exciting step into the world of vegan advocacy and food studies. I look forward to applying what I've learned at VRG in my future studies as a Global Public Health and Food Studies student at NYU.
For information about The Vegetarian Resource Group internships, see www.vrg.org/student/index.php
