Where Culture & Career Take Root: A Youth Program Intern Experience at a Community Medicine Garden
- pua805
- Jul 23
- 1 min read
“I've had a lot of opportunities to involve my culture and the traditions I've been taught,” said Eva Wedell, who interned with IAC this past summer supporting her home community's medicine garden.
Wedell was among four interns assisting Tribal agriculture programs across the country. Interns partnered with IAC to support business grants, community gardens, and water conservation, both in their home communities and across the nation.
IAC was able to support these interns financially while they attended postsecondary school and provided professional growth opportunities across the broad field of agriculture.
“This truly leads them to jobs,” said Elaini Vargas, IAC’s Youth Programs Director. “It becomes a pathway to working in this world.”
Vargas knows this pathway well. She started her journey with IAC as an intern and now oversees a growing youth program. Reflecting on this past cohort of interns, she sees so many pathways opening for them ahead.
Wedell’s dream next step is to work in prairie restoration with her degree in conservation biology through Oglala Lakota College. Her internship opportunity was one more step toward achieving her goals and supporting agriculture in her region.
Reflecting on her internship experience, Wedell said, “The awesome part of it is that this constant learning is going on.”
Vargas and all the staff at IAC are excited to see where Wedell’s path leads in the years ahead.
