This summer CAA was thrilled to have two summer interns from South High School: Stephanie Osornio Orduna and Muniratu Shaibu . They worked with our Community Organizer Tamuno Imbu to assist with a variety of projects over their two months with us. Their salaries were paid by the Earn While You Learn Summer Program.

The interns helped out at the booths as both V-Fests and did presentations at South and Northside High Schools. The goal of the presentations was to discuss our mission and provide facts on factory farming while offering plant-based food samples. The presentation at Northside was done in cooperation with Teen Teamworks. Teen Teamworks is a summer work program which hires about 100 youth throughout the city.

Having presentations to youth by peers made the information more relatable. The preparation work helped our interns learn about the issues.  It also assisted in development of valuable presentation skills and enhanced confidence.

Stephanie reports that her favorite activity as an intern was working on the presentation slides because she “got to learn more about farmed animals and the living conditions and health.” She goes on to say “I think that this opportunity has been helpful for my future because I got to learn and experience new things which I found really interesting and I feel like I definitely learned something new each week whether it was about farmed animals or plant-based alternatives.”

Muniratu tells us that “I’ve definitely gained lots of useful insight on veganism and CAA over the summer. One of them is the various alternatives to meat and how creative you can get with your cooking as a vegan.”

“It is always a pleasure to introduce young people to the world of a plant-based lifestyle while incorporating the effects on the environment as well as the suffering of animals” states Tamuno, “(there will be an)everlasting effect on the way they see vegans and the community.”

We wish these bright and hard working young women all the best as they return to high school and prepare for the next stage of their lives. Their work with CAA was much appreciated and we are glad they found it valuable as well.