August 2021 … Healthy NewsWorks this summer had two interns through Bridging the Gap, an organization that links health-profession students with nonprofit community partners.
Healthy NewsWorks was one of about 100 Bridging the Gap community partners this year.
Two students — Anika Valery, a second-year medical student at Jefferson University and Neelam Vohra, a second-year dental student at the University of Pennsylvania — spent six week interning with Healthy NewsWorks.
Their goal was to create virtual workshops that would be engaging for students, and which in turn would inspire students to create content for By Kids For Kids. Valery and Vohra produced three workshops during their time with Healthy NewsWorks: on dental professions, on sleep health, and on self care.
The workshops were presented to a limited number of students this summer, but, because of the way they were designed and produced, they can be run again in the future.
The self care workshop focused on yoga, mindfulness, and meditation, and offered something of a preview for Healthy NewsWorks’ 2021-22 theme, “How We Heal.”
A successful workshop experience, Neelam said, is if they “see student engagement, that there’s something coming out of it.”
Valery agreed. “Having someone leave the workshop saying, ‘I learned something new,’ or wanting to share with a family member. Leaving an imprint would be my biggest pat on the back.”
The experiences they’ve had with Healthy NewsWorks will shape their future careers, the women said.
“This experience has taught me the importance of educating youth,” Valery said. “This has pointed me in that direction.”
