Student Profile: Morgan Hamilton

*Disclaimer: The Career Development in Land and Food Systems course is the updated title of the previously-named Career Development in Land and Food Systems Internship.

Internship:

Food Skills Intern

Supervisors:

Seth Friedman, Practicum Coordinator

What are you studying?

I am in my fourth year, studying food systems in the Global Resource Systems in LFS.

What was your role as an intern?

My role as a Food Skills Intern primarily involved scheduling and facilitating workshops. This sounds straight forward but has a lot of room for creativity. I get to brainstorm new workshops, reach out to presenters, create workshop listings, and communicate with the community members. The role feels dynamic and there is a nice mix of time behind the computer screen, and time spent with the community.

What did you get out of doing this internship?

I was able to expand my bubble outside of UBC and spend time with a diverse mix of community members and presenters. I also gained a novice skill level of a wide variety of subjects, from tanning fish leather, to making Japanese pickles, to basket weaving.

What was the most surprising thing you learned?

I learnt how not devalue my own work and properly allocate and bill my time.

Why are you interested in working within the food system?

I was initially attracted to this internship because the workshop programming includes so many forms of creativity, whether that’s cooking or storytelling. Usually, creativity within academia is so finite and exists in such specific confines and being able to have dedicated time to other forms of other creativity was so enriching and valuable.

What would you like students to know about the CSFS at UBC Farm?

I would like the students to know that there are so many opportunities to be involved on the UBC Farm and find a position that fits your own strengths and goals. Even the small connections you make can expand upon themselves in so many ways and lead to greater achievements and accomplishments. Additionally, it is so important to remember that we all have something to contribute and regardless of being students or not, our contributions are valuable and meaningful for the CSFS.

What is your favourite thing to do at the UBC Farm?

My time at the UBC Farm has been varied- from taking part in course-based labs to volunteering with BC Seeds Trials, to contributing my time to this internship. One of my favourite things to do at the UBC Farm is to observe the different ways people are experiencing the farm and all of the different realms it exists in. You can be walking around at the Farm and see a PhD student’s research happening right next to a crop that will be sold at that weekend’s Farmers’ market, and I love observing that so much can go together and grow together at the same time.