Lily is a first-generation college student who completed her Master’s degree within four years. She chose Social Work because of the meaningful impact social workers have on individuals, communities, and society. Lily has always had a passion for working with people and wanted to make a tangible difference in her own community. Lily serves as the Garden Outreach Coordinator, a CHIP internship, at UW-Whitewater.

Her internship goal was to increase students’ access to the Warhawk Pantry and raise awareness of the Campus Garden. Lily worked towards her goal to support her community members. She addressed food insecurity, which can contribute to negative health outcomes like diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic diseases. She created resources to help students who have a limited income or access to nutritious foods. For instance, some folks have limited access to produce, which is another source to contribute to negative health outcomes. 

She had the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities in her internship. She helped coordinate between the Warhawk Pantry and the Campus Garden. She got to be creative with the help of Summer Manzke, the campus dietitian. Lily and Summer created some awesome meal kits and recipes incorporating produce from the Campus Garden.  Lily and Summer worked together to assemble “Grain, Green, and Bean” meal kits for the Warhawk Food Pantry. Also, Lily designed “Grain, Green, and Bean” recipe cards, so pantry shoppers knew how to cook the dark leafy greens. Summer and Lily packaged the kits with the recipe cards, brown rice or pasta, and canned vegetables, beans, and chicken. Her goal was to encourage UWW to use fresh produce and food creativity in the meal kits. Lily created these recipes for the Warhawk Pantry to address students’ limited access to nutritious foods and income. The Warhawk Pantry can now share the recipes with their Pantry patrons. Because of Lily’s meal kits, she educated the Warhawk Pantry’s patrons one recipe at a time.

Another skill Lily developed was leadership. She led hands-on educational activities with the children when she worked at the Children’s Center. She talked about bees and gave them hand-grown vegetables from the Campus Garden. Lily had the kids feel, taste, and smell different herbs and vegetables to encourage hands-on learning. Lily’s favorite moment was when the kiddos’ faces lit up with excitement when they tasted various produce items. She enjoyed the genuine curiosity and happiness they brought to each event hosted.

All in all, Lily helped students create delicious, nutritious, and balanced meals using Warhawk Pantry staple foods. Because of Lily’s internship, she advanced her knowledge about children and adults. Lily will flourish in Social Work because she is driven to help educate people. Thanks to Lily, she is a role model for future students.

Lily is seeking a position where she can support and empower communities – particularly in food insecurity, health disparities, and other social challenges.