Julia Lesnick, undergraduate senior thesis student at the ATL, presented at the 2017 Cornell Cooperative Extension Internship Reception on October 11th. This reception allowed students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Human Ecology to showcase the results from their internships to Extension educators, Cornell faculty, and their community mentors.
Students from across both colleges apply to specific projects that work with local Cornell Cooperative Extension offices to do applied research. There are a diverse range of projects, all of which strive to tie research and outreach in a way that benefits communities across New York State. Selected interns are required to document their experiences by blogging and presenting their findings at the reception at the end of summer.
Over the summer, Julia worked under the mentorship of June Mead, a CCE Program Leader, to address the need for improved trauma care training in Broome County. Julia developed a professional development workshop in trauma informed care to combat high rates of youth trauma resulting from poverty, natural disasters, and drug abuse problems. Julia’s work aims to deliver better youth care and support by training youth providers with evidence backed research. Her program trained over 50 direct youth program providers and helped staff enhance their understandings of trauma and to provide each program with tools to promote resilience and recovery.