Healthy Dearborn

Nicole Urdahl Healthy Schools Intern

The University of Michigan School of Public Health Nutritional Sciences

Abstract Timeline of Work Outcomes

I completed my internship at the community coalition Healthy This internship began at the beginning of May and ran through the summer to the end of August. My project This was a great experience that enriched my learning at
Dearborn. Their mission is to create valuable opportunities for people in was self-paced and I was able to work from home, with regular check-in meetings with my preceptor. the University of Michigan. I was able to put into action
Dearborn to practice healthy lifestyles by enriching their minds, nurturing May June July/August
many of the skills and knowledge that were discussed in my
their bodies, and revitalizing their spirit. Dearborn is classified as a classes the first year of the program. It will be extremely
Deciding the Conduct peer- Finalize
medically underserved community; it lacks access to primary care services; project will be reviewed nutrition valuable to graduate with a summer of real world
with many people in the community having additional barriers including the creation research on the education experience in the filed of nutrition. I was told numerous
relationships curriculum,
language, cultural, and economic. My summer internship project was of Nutrition
between food student activity times by the Healthy Dearborn members and my preceptor
within the Healthy Schools action team of Healthy Dearborn where I Education and disease sheets, and how great the product that I created was and how
Curriculum parent take-
wrote nutrition education curriculum for the elementary schools. The goal Research
Write nutrition
home sheets
necessary it was to the health of their community. The next
education
was to create one 10 minute lesson per month so as not to overload the current curriculum Present the final steps are for the teachers at DPS to implement the lessons
teachers with extra work, while still getting across the basics of proper nutrition highlighting the product to the in their classrooms throughout the year. It is remarkably
education relationships Healthy
nutrition. I also aimed to make the learning process fun and entertaining curriculums between food Dearborn rewarding to produce a product that people value and
for both students and teachers. I targeted the education to elementary across the and Coalition appreciate. It shows the importance of community
health/disease members
school aged children to create a strong foundation at a young age for country nutrition work and lends itself to be a possible career
lifelong knowledge of health and nutrition in Dearborn. The nutrition outcome for myself. Being an intern for Healthy Dearborn
education curriculum consisted of lessons which encompassed the USDAs was a valuable life experience that I greatly appreciated.
MyPlate guidelines for healthy eating. Some lesson topic examples include
fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, fat, moving your body, etc. With each of
the lessons I created a Parent Sheet that will go home with children
summarizing what they learned that day, including a healthy recipe for
the family to try.
I also conducted background research on other nutrition education
curriculums across the country in order to recommend the implementation
of the positive aspects of those in Dearborn Public Schools. I did
extensive research on the relationship between certain foods and
disease/health; which I cited within each lesson of the curriculum. A
competency that I aimed to work on was the ability to communicate
audience-appropriate public health content through writing. This was
achieved through the curriculum that I created which will be used to
educate the public on healthy eating habits. Another competency was to
apply research evidence and theoretical frameworks to inform public
health actions, which was achieved through my research on the
relationships between food and disease. This experience shaped me
professionally by illustrating how important community work is and how
much of an impact small steps can make for those in need.
Funding Sources
This internship was unpaid hourly. I applied for a grant
from the Michigan Public Health Training Center that was
being offered to students working in a medically
underserved community. I received this grant which helped
subsidize the work I did for Healthy Dearborn.

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my preceptor Sara Gleicher for her
unwavering support throughout the internship process and
Learning Objectives and Goals her constant belief in what I was creating. She was always
To create a product that could easily be used at DPS and one that available for advising and she helped me create a product
would also make a significant difference in the community. that will hopefully be used for years to come.
To learn from my peers and mentors about what a community coalition
does and how it can make an impact and improve the health and overall
lives of the community it serves.