Edwards has used connections established during her Public Health Practicum to find new career opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Public Health Practicum is a culminating experience for public health majors and minors, allowing students to put their learning into action. Typically completed during the junior or senior year, students spend three weeks in direct practice and observation at public health organizations throughout Alamance County, the greater Raleigh and Greensboro areas, in their hometowns or abroad. These experiences often create valuable professional connections, helping students grow their networks in their future fields.
Carter Edwards ’20 was able to call upon the connections she made during her practicum experience as she faced canceled interviews, unfunded fellowships, and overall uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January 2020, Edwards completed her practicum at The Green Heart Project, a farm-to-school nonprofit organization based in Charleston, S.C. The organization builds garden-based experiential learning opportunities to educate students, connect people, and cultivate community through growing, eating and celebrating food.
Edwards maintained connections with her supervisor and staff throughout spring semester. As instruction at Elon moved online in March, Edwards offered to volunteer with the organization during her free time. It was an offer that would translate into a job that will last until at least August 2021.
As part of a year of service through AmeriCorps VISTA, Edwards is now serving as the youth internship program coordinator for The Green Heart Project. In this role, she recently oversaw the commencement of a paid internship program for eight high school students in downtown Charleston. The program allows students to work at a “pay what you can” farm stand, help build a half-acre urban farm, engage in lessons ranging from health and nutrition to financial literacy and civic engagement.
Edwards will be responsible this year for the growth of the program from eight students to 20. She eventually hopes to turn this summer internship into a year-round after-school employment opportunity for students, with a focus on employing those living below the poverty line.
In an update sent to the public health faculty, Edwards shared that she has often felt “overwhelmed and discouraged” with the climate change emergency, but through the work she has been doing and the inspiration that has come from the youth she works with, she has seen that “people-powered change inspires sustainable action every day.”