SHECP Talks

Intern Insights: Mansi Tripathi, W&L

On this episode of SHECP Talks, Mansi Tripathi, to reflect on her 2019 internship with the Gateway Center in Atlanta and her postgraduate Fulbright experience in Colombia. 
Mansi is a 2022 Washington and Lee University graduate where she majored in politics and sociology and minored in Poverty and Human Capability Studies. In 2019 she completed her SHECP internship with the Gateway Center in Atlanta, GA. After graduation, she spent 10 months in Colombia as part of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship program. Later this month she will join the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia as an Investigative Specialist.
The Gateway Center works "to connect people experiencing homelessness with the support necessary to become self-sufficient and find a permanent home.”

Expertise in the Field: Blue Ridge Area Food Bank

A conversation about the power of language to improve programming, alter narratives, and support dignity in the food assistance network
Listen in as Tyler Herman and Robin Swecker from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (BRAFB) discuss the power of language to improve programming, alter public and internal narratives, and support dignity in the food assistance network. Tyler is the Director of Partner Engagement for BRAFB and Robin is the Partner Engagement Manager for the Shenandoah Valley.
 
Last November, SHECP hosted a Springboard series event to discuss how the language surrounding poverty influences and complicates our daily work and is addressed in various fields of study. Click here to watch the recording and learn more about the panelists. This podcast extends this discussion from the classroom to discussion happening with community partners and individuals these partners are hoping to reach.
 
During the podcast, Tyler and Robin focus on how changes in the language used at BRAFB (and by their many partner agencies) have impacted which individuals choose to participate in services and how agencies like BRAFB communicate with a wide array of audiences, including community members, individuals in need of assistance, government agencies, funders, and researchers.

Intern Insights: Noah Cady, VMI

In this episode of SHECP Talks, Noah Cady, a first-class (or Senior to the rest of us) at the Virginia Military Institute, discusses his 2022 internship with the Food Bank of South Jersey.
 
The Food Bank of South Jersey is a massive operation with over 200 agency partners, programs of their own and a relatively large advocacy and education arm. Noah talks about his work with the agency’s health and nutrition programming, bringing in his “outsider” perspective, and his deepened understanding of the importance of strong, respectful relationships for impactful community programming.
 
Later in the episode, Noah talks about waking up to the email telling him that his summer internship was going to be with the Food Bank of South Jersey and being a little confused. Although he thought he would be in a medical clinic, he went into his placement with an open mind. Looking back, he reflected that it was the perfect internship to prepare him to be a creative physician and strong patient advocate down the road - “You aren’t here to totally learn about your career. You are here to learn about the people you are going to serve, and you are going to learn about people in general...It is a skill you’ve got to learn.”
 
His advice for students considering a SHECP Internship: “Just go for it! I don’t think you can get a better experience of where you get dropped into a community and [gain friends for life].”
 
 
For more information about topics Noah discusses:
Food Bank of South Jersey – The Food Bank of South Jersey (FBSJ) exists to provide an immediate solution to the urgent problem of hunger by providing food to people in need, teaching them to eat nutritiously, and helping them to find sustainable ways to improve their lives. FBSJ services Burlington County, Camden County, Gloucester County and Salem County. We remain the urgent solution these residents turn to when they are hungry and can’t afford to buy food. Through innovation and smart hunger-relief programming, the Food Bank has distributed over 150 million pounds of food, served more than one million fresh, nutritious meals to vulnerable children and provided tens of thousands of food boxes filled with healthy groceries to seniors. https://foodbanksj.org
Professional Insights event with Dr. Kelli Jarrell – Dr. Kelli Jarrell, a SHECP alum, talks about her work as a Social Emergency Medicine fellow, her development of the Social Emergency Medicine/Public Health Interest Group, and how her experience as a SHECP Intern impacted her professional life. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/8IKKQOQWAnQ

Expertise in the Field: Gerald ”Bo” King

A conversation about working at the intersection of poverty and justice
Gerald “Bo” King, Federal Public Defender and Chief of the Fourth Circuit Capital Habeas Unit, he discusses fighting for justice within the realities of our court system. Bo previously worked for the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama and Atlanta Legal Aid Society and will talk about how he saw both poverty and place play a role in his work.

Faculty Voices: Dr. Rachel Terman, Ohio University

A conversation about teaching with a course with a strong sense of place with Dr. Rachel Terman from Ohio University
Dr. Terman joins us to talk about her current class, “Sociology of Appalachia,” the strong history and sense of community in the area, cultural assumptions about the area, and looking at region with an asset mindset.

Faculty Voices: Dr. Ellen Prusinski, Centre College

A conversation about innovative course design with Dr. Ellen Prusinski from Centre College
Dr. Ellen Prusinski joins us to talk about her current class, “Education Policy and Social Change,” why she values incorporating community-based learning into your coursework, and some of her current research that has roots in a previous class project.