Alumni will attend Summer Institute workshops alongside students and will be able to provide instant feedback on ideas for ventures, projects, leadership, and more. This presents a unique chance for students to receive advice from past students who have gone through the same challenges they currently face as campus leaders. This also presents an opportunity for alumni to stay connected to and give back to Nourish.

The following alumni will be serving as mentors at the Summer Institute:

• Alex Ahearn: former chapter leader at Duke University
• Logan Couce: former NINO staff member and UNC chapter alumnus
• James Dillard: former NINO staff member and UNC chapter alumnus
• Alison Dorsey: Duke chapter alumnus and Argentina project participant
• Joel Thomas: first executive director of Nourish and UNC chapter alumnus
• Bryon Zandt: former NINO staff member and UNC chapter alumnus

We are excited to welcome these esteemed alumni to the Summer Institute!

Like most other starting organizations, Lauren's Nourish chapter initially experienced some obstacles. The group had to compete with hundreds of other organizations for membership, attendance at events, and funds for projects. "After numerous setbacks, I also found it difficult to motivate my executive board members, so that wound up being a challenge as well," says Lauren.

Despite a rocky start, the UVA chapter went on to have many accomplishments under Lauren's direction. The chapter was able to send five students abroad during its first year to work on a summer project in collaboration with other Nourish chapters. Lauren's chapter also hosted a successful date auction with several other public service organizations at UVA.

Last summer, Lauren's chapter sponsored a project in Ecuador in collaboration with community partner Triple Salto. Lauren's job was to ensure that the participants had a positive trip experience. The project team constructed greenhouses at elementary schools, planted tomato seeds, installed an irrigation system, and built a wormerie. They also painted murals related to nutrition and world geography. The goal of the project was for the schools to use the vegetables in school meals, sell the surplus for profit, and teach the students about gardening and nutrition.

Throughout her time as the UVA Nourish chapter director, Lauren successfully balanced her school, work, and volunteer responsibilities while still finding time to relax with friends on the weekend and apply to the Peace Corps. For students struggling to find such a balance, Lauren advises, "Figure out your priorities, focus only on the most important, and stick to a schedule."

Lauren's involvement with Nourish impacted her life in many ways, causing her to rethink her future career plans. "My sole interest was in medicine until I became involved with Nourish, which cemented my interest in international development," she says. "The Ecuador trip re-confirmed my belief that sustainable development was a cause I should dedicate my life's work to."

Currently, Lauren is volunteering with the Peace Corps in San Cristobal Totonicapan, Guatemala, where she implements the Healthy Schools program in 20 schools. After the three-week teacher's strike that occurred during her first month at the site, she began visiting schools, meeting faculty and students, and working on baseline surveys. Most recently, she has been applying for grants to fund water projects at schools lacking consistent access to water.

After gaining field experience in the Peace Corps, Lauren plans to work for several years and apply to graduate school. She hopes to obtain a Master's of Public Administration in development practice or a Master's of Public Health. Eventually, she would like to find a career where she can work in the United States for most of the year and facilitate development projects overseas for the rest. "I know that I'm not going to change the world," says Lauren, "but I can at least change a small part of it."

Lauren plans on staying connected to Nourish by networking with alumni, reaching out to the UVA chapter, and sharing her story with as many people as possible. "I highly recommend that every incoming university student with a slight interest in poverty reduction gets involved in some way with Nourish International," she says. "The rewards are numerous and you will undoubtedly walk away not only a better person, but also a better leader."

Virginia: Hi Kaitlin! Thanks so much for agreeing to speak with me. First of all, I wanted to say thank you so much for founding such a strong Nourish International Chapter at UC Davis! Nourish really appreciates the time and energy you put into building a community of students who are passionate about eradicating global poverty.

My first question involves your initial involvement with Nourish. How did you find out about it, and how did you decide that you wanted to found a Chapter at your University?

Kaitlin: I found out about Nourish in the spring of 2008 when the National Office was seeking to establish new chapters at universities across the country. I got an email from the UC Davis International Relations Department about the Nourish International Chapter Founders Program and decided to apply. I'd long been interested in international development work and wanted to be involved in the fight against global poverty, but lacked an outlet to channel my passion for the cause. Becoming involved in Nourish International and establishing a chapter at UC Davis seemed to be a perfect opportunity for me to convert my passion into action. I applied to the Chapter Founders Program, was accepted, attended the Summer Institute in 2008, and the rest is history!

Virginia: What sort of barriers, if any, did you run into while trying to get your Chapter up and running?

Kaitlin: I faced a number of barriers in establishing a new student organization at UC Davis. Unfortunately, the process for founding a new student organization at UC Davis is long and complicated -- there's a lot of red tape to go through. Also, the university does not make it very easy for students to establish on-campus ventures involving food sales, so getting Hunger Lunch up and running was a long and difficult task. Thankfully, we were able to partner with an on-campus food vendor to sponsor Hunger Lunch, One other barrier I ran into was figuring out how to get interested students to take an active role in the organization. At UC Davis, we have a lot of students who support Nourish and are passionate about the cause; the difficulty is how to get those passionate and excited students to take on leadership roles in the organization and donate their time and energy to the cause, especially when there are a lot of other student organizations to compete with. While I've listed a number of barriers, I'm glad to say that I think our chapter was successful at overcoming them and the chapter is now in its 3rd year at UCD.

Virginia: Could you tell me a little bit about your experience with Nourish in its first few years at UC Davis? What were your duties? What would you say your biggest accomplishment was?

Kaitlin: I loved my experience with Nourish! The two years that I spent as the Chapter Director were difficult and at times stressful, but ultimately incredibly rewarding and one of the most valuable experiences of my undergraduate education. Through the UCD Executive Board I made a number of great friendships that I'm sure will continue in the years to come, and I hope to maintain a relationship with the National Office and stay involved in Nourish in the future.

My duties as Chapter Director were rather varied... I essentially had a hand in everything that the chapter did, from membership recruitment to publicity to fundraising to international projects to our chapter's awareness efforts. Specifically, I oversaw and directed the Executive Board (consisting of 10 members), planned and led all general meetings, and managed communication with the National Office, the university, and the members of the chapter, I worked closely with our International Projects directors to plan both of our chapter's International Development Projects with Triple Salto in Quito, Ecuador, and I also established a number of our ventures, including Hunger Lunch. I'd say my biggest accomplishment as the Chapter Director was planning and directing "Strides for Change," a 5K road race our chapter held this past spring that made over $1200. I ran Cross-Country and Track at UC Davis, so running is near and dear to my heart; I was glad to be able to blend my passions for running and for international development through this fun venture.

Virginia: I also see that you were a Project Leader in Quito, Ecuador in June of 2010. What were the aims of that project? How did you direct the activities of the other students? Did you accomplish everything you set out to?

Kaitlin: This summer I was one of 3 students that UC Davis sent to Ecuador as part of our International Development project. Our International Project Directors were unable to actually go on the project (one was leaving for the Peace Corps!) so as the Chapter Leader I became the de-facto Project Leader of our team in Ecuador. Our chapter had worked with Triple Salto's Organic Agriculture project the year before, so this summer was our second year sending student volunteers to Ecuador. Our goal was to promote food security, sustainable agriculture, and nutrition education in communities in Ecuador. Working in conjunction with Nourish students from the University of Virginia, we built an organic greenhouse at a rural school outside of Quito. Working with Triple Salto, agro-engineers from Conquito (a government municipality), and the local community, we erected the greenhouse and planted tomatoes in it, supporting a pre-existing garden project at the school. We also worked closely with the students (elementary age) to paint a mural depicting proper nutrition and healthy eating. While the project was small and I wish we could have spent more time in Ecuador, working at other school sites and incorporating more nutrition education into the project, I am proud of what UCD, UVA, and Triple Salto were able to accomplish. In my opinion, more important than the actual outcomes of the project were the meaningful cross-cultural connections made between American and Ecuadorian students.

Virginia: In college, you were not only a Nourish Chapter Founder and project leader, but you also balanced academics and varsity track and field. What is your advice to students who are trying to find a balance between school work and volunteer opportunities?

Kaitlin: In college, I was involved in a number of different extracurricular activities -- academics, athletics, and volunteer opportunities. While having a lot on your plate can get stressful at times, I found that the busier I was, the more efficient I became. My advice to students would be to really focus on time management and establishing priorities in order to be able to fit in all the things you want to do as an undergrad. If you're a Chapter Leader, learn to delegate tasks and share the workload so that it remains manageable for you. It's definitely hard to find a balance, but I think if you're really passionate about all the things you're involved with, you'll be able to find a way

Virginia: How has Nourish International influenced you? How will you incorporate changing the world into the rest of your life and your future career?

Kaitlin: I've always known that I will pursue a career in international development, but my work with Nourish International helped solidify that this is the field I want to go into. My work with Nourish International has provided me with first-hand international development volunteer experience and allowed me to work directly with a community in a developing country, something not all students get to experience as undergraduates. It's one thing to study development in an academic setting, it's another thing to be on the ground working side by side with Ecuadorian women to erect a greenhouse. Although my time spend volunteering in Ecuador was short, the experience was invaluable, and I'm grateful to have had that opportunity through Nourish. Also, my time spent as a Chapter Founder and Director provided me with important experiences in leadership, management, fundraising, and communications, which I've found to be important skills for recent college grads looking for jobs.

In my future career, I plan to get a Masters degree in International Development and ultimately work in international development, with a specific focus on hunger and food security in the developing world. One day I would love to work for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) or for an international aid agency.

Virginia: What are you doing now? What are some ways you will remain connected with Nourish International?

Kaitlin: I currently live and work in San Francisco, CA. I am pursuing a professional running career, training for the 2012 Olympic Trials in the 10K. I also work part-time as the Strategic Initiatives Coordinator at the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center, a nonprofit which provides free afterschool programming and adult education classes to underserved youth and families in San Francisco's Sunset District. At my job, I'm directly applying the fundraising and communications skills I developed through my work with Nourish.

I would love to continue my involvement with Nourish as an alum and maintain a relationship with the organization. I wish there was a greater capacity for interested Nourish alums to remain involved in the organization, perhaps through an alumni board or as an alumni representative on the current Board of Directors. I've done some consulting work for the National Office, most recently creating the handbook "Ventures that Engage the Local Community."  I think a great project for one of the Nourish interns would be to work on utilizing the resources of the vast network of Nourish alums, many of whom have gone on to work in the international development field and who can serve as mentors to current Nourish students.

To Nourish supporters -- if you're able to support Nourish with a financial gift, please consider doing so! The organization is young but filled with passionate, hard-working individuals and the future leaders in the field of international development. Your financial support of the National Office will enable it to expand its capacity to support students in their international projects efforts, the dividends of which are two-fold; empowering communities in developing countries to lift themselves out of poverty, while providing American college students with an invaluable cross-cultural learning experience that you can't get from a textbook.

Virginia: Kaitlin, thank you so much for your time and your thorough responses. It's clear that you are hugely passionate about Nourish International, and we thank you for the hard work and dedication to our organization. Good luck with your future endeavors, and we will be sure to keep you posted on all the hard work going on here at the National Office!

New Board Members:

• Lee Buck, an Entrepreneur in the Raleigh Durham area joined the National Board. He will be serving a two year term.
• Pallavi Garg, from the University of Texas at Austin joined the Board as Nourish's first student-board member. She will be serving a one year term.

Committees and Task Forces

• The Board Recruitment Committee, led by Joel Thomas, is preparing "job descriptions" for new potential board members, as well as a Board Rotation Plan.
• The Metrics Task Force, led by Marcia Angle, is working with the staff to make headway towards providing preliminary metrics for Chapters and Project leaders.
• Pallavi Garg will be launching a Nourish Alumni Committee for the purpose of collecting and organizing our alumni's information and beginning a discussion on ways to keep them involved with Nourish's mission.

For the Budget

• The Give the Gift of Nourish Campaign was a huge success, raising over $6,000.
• In December, the Park Foundation chose to support the National Office with a grant — exciting!