Victoria Banks, 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 2014
I am writing this end-of-my-internship statement and it is making me realize how fast the internship has flown by. I am a SUPEH intern (meaning a part of the Summer Undergraduate Program in Environmental Health) in the National Center for Environmental Health at CDC. Every week we have a different theme; every Monday we have journal club, every Wednesday we have a guest speaker, and every Friday there is a field trip. There is always something going on in the program, at CDC, and during the weeks. We have been kept very busy and I wouldn’t have changed any of it. I learned a lot about working in the government and about the different areas and branches of all that makes up CDC. Specifically, I have learned about the many areas that make up Environmental Health (EH). It has been a thrill to be able to hear from EH people doing work all over and in so many different fields.
My assignment in the Environmental Health Services Branch was on a guidance document related to control of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and its dog tick vector. My supervisor and I have been reformatting, editing, adding text, etc., to the document. I have learned a lot about the topic and look forward to seeing how it will turn out in the end. My contributions were in the intervention section and appendix of the document; discussing the many different ways to interrupt the dog tick’s life cycle by preventing biting of dogs and pesticide applications in the environment. There were also smaller projects like literature reviews on vector control programs and contributing input on other emerging issues. A lot of my time here, however, has been spent outside the cube that I have called home these 10 weeks. It has been spent attending workshops, going on field trips, and networking! We have a great opportunity here to get feedback and talk with people throughout a variety of EH areas. I have set up many coffee dates and lunches and have heard a lot of stories and input. I feel like this type of exposure is very hard to find outside of this internship.
I have learned so much; from managing Outlook, to performing inspections, to public speaking, and using research tools. This internship has given me a new appreciation for the EH degree I received from East Carolina. I have been able to use knowledge from my classes throughout my time here and I know I will use what I have learned here in future career opportunities. I feel like this was a very helpful internship and they do a great job of exposing us to as much as possible. I have created contacts and now have a lot of ideas for what I might want to do after graduating. I know this program will continue to grow and future students will continue to gain from this amazing experience. This type of experience is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and can be used to jump start into the next part of your career. I plan on gaining another 2 years of experience in public health before starting a masters of public health program. I am very sad that it has ended, but had an amazing summer here in Atlanta, GA.
I want to thank the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education for this opportunity; LT James Gooch and Maria Jolly for being wonderful program coordinators and putting so much time into the coordination of activities and individual help; also everyone in the Environmental Health Services Branch who were so welcoming; and of course the SUPEH coordinators LCDR Just Gerding and CDR Joe Laco for setting up field trips and giving us opportunities that I would never have been able to experience if not for them and this program. Thank You!!