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August 26, 2025 Leah Kittredge 3.5 min read

Partnership with UVM Benefits Students and CVCOA

In 2022, CVCOA began working in partnership with the University of Vermont (UVM) Masters of Dietetics faculty to create an internship program. The program began with just two dietetics student interns and has grown steadily. This year, CVCOA has already welcomed six talented interns, including one remote student from Michigan, each bringing unique expertise and enthusiasm to our nutrition education and service efforts, and another two interns will be coming on board this fall.  

The UVM student interns have made meaningful contributions to our agency while gaining valuable hands-on experience that will guide their future careers. Additionally, earlier this year, UVM recognized Kim Lipinski with the Outstanding Preceptor Award for her leadership in developing an internship program that balances rigorous learning with real-world application, benefiting both students and the community.  

The projects interns have taken on have been diverse and impactful including: 

  • Conducting nutrition education presentations on topics such as type 2 diabetes management, heart-healthy eating, and healthy aging. 

  • Developing clear, practical flyers for clients and educational materials for home-delivered meal participants. 

  • Analyzing and adapting recipes to meet the nutrition requirements of the Older Americans Act, while also improving cost efficiency and nutritional value. 

  • Creating training materials for cooks at nutrition sites to support preparation of therapeutic meals. 

  • Providing 12 healthy, easy-to-prepare recipes for meal sites to share in newsletters. 

  • Participating in mentoring sessions with the RDN, gaining insight into workflow, challenges, and successes. 

  • Supporting broader initiatives, such as drafting position papers on nutrition-related legislation and conducting interviews for a community needs assessment in Montpelier. 

These experiences not only benefit CVCOA’s programs but also shape the professional paths of the students. Time spent in congregate meal settings allows interns to engage directly with older adults, giving them valuable insight into the successes and challenges of aging. Many leave with a deeper appreciation of the needs of this population and carry forward the empathy and knowledge they gained here into their future careers. 

These benefits to students were noted by Sabrina Alessi, a recent intern. Sabrina interned with CVCOA this year as part of her Masters of Dietetics at UVM. While her rotation was only a few weeks long, she worked on a variety of projects including a renal welcome packet for Meals on Wheels (MOW) clients, recipe analysis for MOW and CVCOA’s Tasty Bites program, research on the food as medicine movement and, her favorite part, a presentation about healthy eating for older adults at Twin Valley Senior Center.  

Before her rotation with CVCOA, Sabrina was doing mostly clinical work and had been leaning towards that for her career, however, she said that this experience really opened her mind to “how expansive” the field of dietetics is and how many directions she can take in the future. Her favorite part of the internship, the presentation about healthy eating, allowed her to interact with people at the community level and made her realize how important older adult nutrition is. “I feel like it’s opened up an avenue for me, maybe I’d like to go towards this population in my career.” She expressed really enjoying all of the aspects of her internship and said she would encourage others to intern with CVCOA.    

The most recent intern this summer, Grace DeLisle, an undergraduate studying healthcare policy with plans for law school, brought Blue Zone Living—with a nutrition focus—to life for older adults. She delivered engaging presentations at four senior centers in the region, with one filmed by ORCA Media. Behind the scenes, Grace also served as the scribe during the filming of five Tasty Bites cooking show episodes (see Grace in the filming studio in the photo above and delivering her Blue Zone presentation at the top).  

Collectively, this year, interns provide the equivalent of a part-time employee for half the year, a significant resource for our agency. The relationship is mutually beneficial: CVCOA gains meaningful contributions to its programs, while students receive professional experience, expanded networks, and inspiration for their career choices.  

CVCOA looks forward to continuing this fruitful partnership into the future.