PROJECTS AND EVENTS

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MELPOMENE INTERN PROJECTS

VOLUNTEER DEBBIE LUNA
When not volunteering, Debbie Luna is a homecare nurse working with elders. Promoting physical activity in her home community, the West Side of St. Paul, is her way to practice preventive medicine. Throughout her life, she has been a strong leader and activist for promoting healthy behavior among Latinos. She has established exercise programs at Baker Community Center. La Clinica, and the West Side Boys and Girls Club. In 2006, Debbie received an award at the Minnesota State Capitol for her work.

Debbie Luna was the catalyst that brought together Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, St. Catherine's College, Melpomene Institute and the Wellstone Center. Debbie stresses that the key to success for newcomers to physical activity is that the women do not feel threatened by their appearance or their physical ability.

MELPOMENE INTERN PROJECTS

Allison Harford, Spring 2007 Intern
My name is Allison Harford and I am a first year Masters in Public Health student in the Community Health Education program at the University of Minnesota.  Ever since I can remember, I have always been fascinated by the human body and health.  I enrolled in the Biomedical Science program at Marquette University, where I learned about the body’s systems and how lifestyle choices surrounding nutrition, physical activity, and substance use can affect the body. 

In my junior year, I worked as a Peer Health Educator on campus delivering health programs in the residence halls.  I learned that it is far easier to educate students than it is to motivate them to actually change their behavior.  This valuable experience turned me on to health education and the field of public health. 

While at Marquette, I also took many sociology classes that taught me about race issues, social inequalities, health disparities, African American History, and the sociology of medicine around the world.  I already had a passion for the medical aspects of health, but these courses exposed me to the human element of health.  I learned how culture, technology, socioeconomics, and history affect health.  I learned the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity in public health because the places in which we work and the communities with whom we develop programs for are very diverse in race, culture, religion, and sexual orientation.

My field experience at Melpomene has given me the opportunity to do all those things, educate women and change lives by providing valuable research information about women’s health issues.  My specific role was to develop content on various health topics for the evolving Melpomene website.  The Melpomene Institute is an invaluable organization because it strives to enrich the mind, body, and soul of women and girls through research and education.

Juliet Nguyen, Melpomene Winter 2006 Intern
My name is Juliet Nguyen. I am currently a first year graduate student at the University Of Minnesota School Of Public Health. I am pursuing a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration.

My own experience with health care as a result of sports injuries led to my interest in working in the healthcare industry as a physical therapist. I’ve had the chance to volunteer at United Hospital in St. Paul and Bethesda Rehabilitation Center working with a multitude of healthcare providers. I learned a great deal from the individuals I interacted with, especially about the choices they’ve made and their current health status.

When I began undergraduate school at the College of St. Benedict, I enrolled as a Biology major and incorporated a sports medicine and psychology minors. I learned a great deal about the biological and physical benefits of regular exercise as well as motivations and outcomes for athletes. Enrolled at a women’s college, I became interested in the general health needs and issues facing my peers. I established a position on campus as a Health Advocate – promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors, alternatives to preconceived notions of ‘what is healthy’, and continued to learn more about specific concerns for the women I encountered daily. After working for two years as an advocate, I was promoted to manage the Health Advocate group as a whole. This sparked my interests in the management opportunities available in the healthcare industry.

In my research efforts at Melpomene, I wanted to aid in promoting physical activity as something that is  easier to incorporate into daily life than many believe. Specifically, I desired to identify those groups of women who are greatly lacking in the amount of activity they’re engaged in, and what factors contribute to their lack of physical activity. Identifying these factors can help in developing methods to overcome these barriers. Surveys and individual interviews were conducted in Minneapolis, MN to obtain data. The information obtained from my research was presented to the Board Members of Melpomene as well as reported in a letter to the facilities that aided in providing sample data.  

Libby Sharrow, Summer 2006 Intern
As a Public Policy student in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota I am interning with Melpomene this summer as I pursue my Masters degree.  I am concentrating in Women and Public Policy.  Gender, law, and sport define my academic and professional interests, specifically as they play out in the arena of Title IX sports law.

As an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota, I joined the women’s rowing team over the winter of my first year on campus when it was a sport at the recreational club level.  I competed for the club for two years until the Women’s Athletics Department chose to upgrade the team to varsity status as a part of their Title IX compliance plan. 

Competing in rowing at this new level opened doors athletically and intellectually for me as I considered the political climate that had brought about such changes for female athletes on a national level.  My senior year, while serving as captain of the team, I wrote my thesis in political science about Title IX and federal bureaucratic compliance.  When I was offered the chance to accept a full-time coaching position on the staff, I chose to stay with the program and help build a tradition of Minnesota rowing.  Minnesota rowing and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics stand as a examples and testaments to the many good things that have come out of Title IX sports policy.  Providing opportunities in competitive athletics for women in college set up a lifetime of healthy habits for active women.
I hope for that academic work will contribute to a larger understanding of the significance of sport and physical activity in the lives of women, as well as an understanding of the importance of female leadership in coaching women’s teams.  I will also spend the summer working on a project at the Tucker Center for the Study of Girls and Women in Sport at the University.  I hope to complete my Masters degree in the Spring of 2007 and am considering pursuing a PhD. 

Caroline Conrad, Melpomene Fall 2005 Intern
My name is Caroline Conrad. I graduated from Carleton College last June with a psychology major and a certificate of advanced study in Spanish.

Growing up in Duluth, MN, I was always supported in my desire to stay active in the great outdoors. Throughout my childhood I was surrounded by a good group of friends and their mothers who encouraged our participation in physical activity. I have always been amazed at how integral a group of women can be in keeping each other happy and healthy. In college, I went on to play soccer and with the support of this team of women learned not only about becoming a competitive athlete but more importantly, keys to maintaining long-term health. Melpomene's mission grabbed my attention because it seeks to connect women with others to help promote health and physical activity. After realizing how lucky I have been to grow up in a community of encouraging women, I am thrilled to be a part of a group to support others in the same kind of way.

This fall I will be focusing on fostering ties between Melpomene and the Latina community. Most of my energy will go towards planning an event in the second week of November when Dr. Guadalupe Ayala (Melpomene's 2004 Grant Winner) will be coming to talk about her research on physical activity and middle school Latina girls. I look forward to working with the people I meet through this process and I am excited about the non-profit experience I will gain from this opportunity.

Lee Snyder, Melpomene Summer 2005 Intern
My name is Lee Snyder, and I just graduated from Macalester College with a major in Neuroscience and minor in both Psychology and Biology.

Physical activity has long been encouraged in my life.  As a toddler, my mom and I went to Leaps & Bounds, an activity program for parents and kids together. My parents enrolled me in skating, swimming, gymnastics, and dance lessons at a young age. I didn't stick with everything, but I am proud to say I graduated from the YMCA's swimming program after going through all the classes from "minnow" to "porpoise." I also participated in basketball, baseball, and later park district softball.

In high school I really discovered the routine and struggle of training when I began running cross-country. Although never the front-runner, I gained basic knowledge of well-rounded workouts, stretching techniques, running stance, and weight lifting methods. These skills have carried me through four years of college and helped me stay on track with being physically fit (although I cannot say that I've been great about working out as regularly as I should).

Now that I'm out in the "real world," so to speak, I want to extend the encouragement and support for physical activity and exercise I received while growing up. Working up a sweat doesn't have to be painful. If exercise didn't make me feel good both physically and mentally I simply would not do it. I feel Melpomene is a good place to start as I try to work my way into the public health arena. I will be updating some of the fact sheets on the website and working in other ways to spread the word about how good exercise can be for your body and brain.

Linda Vinz, Melpomene Winter 2005 Intern
My name is Linda Vinz. I am currently a senior at Macalester College in St. Paul and oh-so-close to graduating with a degree in Psychology.

Some of my best childhood memories are of the outdoor activities my family and I did together when I was a child.  As I grew older, I continued to be active: I participated in the cross-country and track programs at my high school and formed many new memories and friendships along the way.  Once I entered college, I was plagued with the same problem that many women face: a perceived lack of time and energy. With papers to write, student organizations to join, and new friends to hang out with, physical activity wasn't a priority anymore.
Soon, my inactive lifestyle caught up with me.  I felt less positive about my body and my health. I also realized that physical activity had been an enjoyable part of my life. When I was a kid, exercise wasn't something that I did because I felt I had to or because I craved external rewards. Rather, it was something I did regularly because it was fun. My recognition of this idea has motivated me to be active on a regular basis and to rediscover the activities I once loved: biking, cross-country skiing, and running. I count genuine enjoyment among the innumerable benefits regular exercise provides.

As a Melpomene intern, I will be creating and leading a noncompetitive children's after-school running club modeled after a successful existing program. I plan to write an article about the clubs and post our curriculum on the website, so check back soon! In the meantime, find an activity you and/or your loved ones can truly take pleasure in. Go on walks with a friend or partner. Take the family ice skating or invite them all to be a part of Melpomene's 5 K for Every Body.

Rebecca DeJarlais, Melpomene Winter 2005 Intern
My name is Rebecca DeJarlais, and I'm a junior at Macalester College in St. Paul. I'm working on a major in media studies and a minor in psychology.  Sports weren't always enjoyable for me. After years of mediocre performances in basketball and floor hockey in elementary school, I found my place in what some people call the silent sports. I joined my high school's Nordic ski team in eighth grade and started cross-country running freshman year. When a stress fracture ended my cross-country season at Macalester last year, I decided to focus on recreational running, rock-climbing, biking, skiing, and swimming, with an occasional triathlon in the summer. Basically, I love spending time outside in Minnesota in all seasons.

I grew up in a family that strongly encouraged exercise. "Choose an activity or we'll choose one for you" was one of my mom's cheerful mantras, and my siblings and I spent many summers dabbling in community softball, soccer, and tennis programs. Despite any reluctance we may have had at the time, the emphasis on physical activity remains a crucial part of my belief system today. The mental and physical benefits of exercise are tremendous, as this website shows. But they may not always be visible in daily life, and that is where my work at Melpomene begins.

I want to show you what is happening in the Twin Cities fitness and sports communities that you might not have heard about. I want to write about the clubs and classes and programs and people who are working hard to promote physical fitness. I want to help women and girls have better access to information about their opportunities and their health. I want women to walk instead of drive, and I want kids to make snowmen instead of watching TV!

Adrienne Keller, Melpomene Fall 2004 Intern
Greetings! My name is Adrienne Keller and I am a junior at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. I am currently working towards undergraduate degrees in biology and geography and am looking forward to studying abroad in Ecuador next semester. I am a member of Macalester's women's soccer team Playing soccer at Macalester offers a daily reminder of the power of sport in providing each of us personal freedom, joy, and health throughout our lives.

This past summer I worked as a trips and lodge counselor at Camp Arcadia, an all-girls overnight camp in Maine. There, I had the opportunity to teach young girls how to find success with a positive and confident attitude. I also saw how eager girls are to learn how to take care of their bodies and lead healthy, active lifestyles but simply lack sufficient health and fitness information. This summer proved to me how important Melpomene's mission is to so many girls and women.

My interest in women's health and fitness also extends from my academic training in the biological sciences. The link between cellular and physiological processes in our bodies and physical performance and health is of particular interest to me as an athlete. This past summer I spent some of my spare time researching issues related to women's nutrition and performance training. During the course of my literature exploration, I saw The Melpomene Institute frequently referenced and became interested in the organization. I am excited to have the opportunity to work with Melpomene this fall to extend Melpomene's reach to educate and communicate with a greater number of women and girls.

As an intern at Melpomene, I hope to be able to advance Melpomene's role in providing information and inspiration to the community. I will continue to develop Melpomene's website with new links and inspiring profiles of female athletes.