Alexis Parale, East Carolina University
This content was created by an EHS intern to describe intern experiences. It has not been revised or edited to conform to agency standards. The findings and conclusions are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SUPEH Intern, Summer 2017
My experience as an intern within the Summer Program for Environmental Health was fun, challenging, and eye-opening. For 9 weeks we were able to interact with a wide array of people, take trips to a lot of different places, and find out more about environmental public health at the CDC.
On our first week, we toured around the Roybal Campus, met our supervisors, learned more about the agency, spent time with the other interns, and learned about our projects. I must admit, that first week was a little overwhelming. We were given so much information, not just about our projects and the program, but also about the different places and things to do to make the most out of our time in Atlanta. Truthfully, I wasn’t quite sure where to get started, but luckily, my roommates were also interns at the CDC with the Collegiate Leaders in Environmental Health (CLEH) program and we were able to bond over our excitement.
The program coordinators for both SUPEH and CLEH had a lot of different activities lined up for us, and one of my favorites were the weekly field trips. Every Friday we went off to visit and observe different facilities like landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and air monitoring stations to learn about the services they provided to the community. On these field trips, we visited Lake Lanier, the BeltLine and Zoo Atlanta as well. As participants in SUPEH, we also had the opportunity to go to Anniston, AL to observe a class in Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response (EHTER). On this trip, we were able to interact with different professionals in the field of Environmental Health and observe how they train to respond to different environmental public health emergencies. The experience was extremely immersive and gave me a realistic view of how environmental health professionals’ skills might be tested and developed in those scenarios. We also had the opportunity to observe US Public Health Service officers within the Vessel Sanitation Program conduct a cruise ship inspection in Port Canaveral, FL. That trip was one of a kind and showed us the different settings where public health need to be protected.
On top of the field trips, we also had journal club and discussions with subject matter experts about different environmental health topics. Since the other interns and I were all interested in different aspects of EH, getting together and sharing each other’s knowledge, thoughts, and experiences enabled us to see things in different ways and consider perspectives we never might have thought of. We also got to practice our public speaking skills because as presenters, we needed to work hard to mold content to interesting presentations that encouraged the group to think and participate. Having subject matter experts present to answer any questions we had was also really helpful.
Another big part of the program that we spent a lot of time on were our personal projects. Mine, which was to assess the vector control capacity of local health departments, felt very appropriate for the environmental public health issue that was most interesting to me: vector-borne diseases. A lot of my background was on mosquito control and surveillance operations, and for my project, I conducted a web search to look at the different vector control programs and services provided by local health departments. After gathering data, I mapped out the information using ArcGIS and presented it to the rest of the interns. In the beginning, I struggled a little bit, but received some help from my supervisors from figuring out Excel to making maps with ArcGIS. With their assistance, I eventually felt a little bit more comfortable working with those programs, and though I’m still no expert, I feel like I have earned some very valuable skills. Working on a project like that and knowing the impact it may have on future studies was something that I constantly thought about and often discussed with my roommates when we got back home.
My time at the CDC was made wonderful by the people I was able to work side-by-side with, and the supportive atmosphere that welcomed me on our very first day and stayed with me up until our very last. From my supervisors, to my co-interns, and even the random people I met walking through the halls, everybody was encouraging and kind. Though some days nudged me out of my comfort zone, I believe I have grown in ways that I will greatly benefit from. My 9 weeks at the CDC has definitely affirmed my desire to be in the field of environmental public health, and I hope that one day, when I’ve gained plenty of experience, I too may be able to pass my down my own and skills and knowledge.