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World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)
Summer 2014 I volunteered on the Dimitris Farm in Lispis, Greece for 3 weeks during the summer of 2014. The majority of the Dimitris property is an organic vineyard that has about 5000 vines from which the Dimitris Family produce wine in the old fashion way. My responsibilities included tending to the vineyard, vegetable garden, lemon trees, orange trees, fig trees, olive trees, almond trees and other fruit trees. I cared for the chickens, goats, sheep, donkeys and horses. The small island of 600 residents hosts about 2,000 tourists each summer. I was responsible for managing the Dimitris Farm shop for tourist who came to buy wine, cheese, figs and olive oil or who wanted a tour of the vineyard. The countless lessons I learned from the farm were wonderfully rewarding and I hope to someday find myself back in Lipsi, Greece. Israel Outdoors/Birthright January 2013 As part of my Birthright trip I volunteered at Livnot U'Lehibanot, a national park in Israel. As part of a group of 45 young people, we cleaned up a section of the park with rakes and hoes to make room for fresh grass to grow. Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Nutrition August 2012–Spring 2013 I assisted faculty and department heads in necessary clerical tasks consisting of: - Making calls to patients to remind them of their appointments - Rescheduling and canceling appointments when needed - Signing patients in when they came for their appointment - Notifying the dietitians when their patient had arrived for their appointment Greenheart Travel Volunteers, Costa Rica May 2012 I lived with a host family in Costa Rica for two weeks and volunteered at an orphanage in the small town of La Fortuna, Costa Rica. The orphanage provides a caring and stable environment for orphaned babies and children up to 10 years old. My volunteering duties included organizing games and activities, tutoring children and helping with homework, assisting with general maintenance of the orphanage, assisting with meal time, and assisting staff with day to day tasks. In the morning the older children attended school while the younger ones stay behind in the nursery. In the afternoons the staff and volunteers provided tutoring, mentoring, recreation and adult guidance to the school age children. Tufts University Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging Nutrition, Exercise, Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory Summer 2011 I volunteered within the Tufts University Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory. One of my interests is exercise science and how exercise impacts the body. I reached out to the department and was successful in working on a study. I assisted on the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence For Elders) study. Some of my responsibilities included prepping materials for participants to improve adherence, creating incentives to help individuals reach their goals, aiding in the implementation of behavior modification in the elderly, and checking participants' blood pressure and signs of normal behavior/physiologic response pre-, during and post-exercise. I also assisted on the Whey/Power training study by doing warm up exercises with the participants prior to exercise training. Simmons College Lacrosse Team September 2009–May 2013 Work food concessions during games and concerts at Boston College and Gillette Stadium to raise money for the lacrosse team. |
