CCE summer interns celebrate community connections, collaborations

As a Cornell Cooperative Extension summer intern, Mia Wangari Adriko '26 focused on developing a statewide curriculum framework to help 4-H inspire the next generation of food systems leaders - work that spanned two continents.

"In both New York state and in Uganda, the youth I worked with care about their communities, and they are already engaged in community development," Adriko said. "I was excited to see what they're thinking about in terms of actions and next steps and then synthesizing that to create curriculum frameworks that support youth."

Adriko was one of 22 CCE summer interns honored during a reception Sept. 9 in the Biotechnology Building. Their hands-on, immersive projects spanned urban gardens in New York City, youth development in Buffalo and A.I. for health decision making.

"Our approach is deeply centered on our students - on training and preparing the next generation of global citizens while supporting them in their life-changing journeys," said Lori Leonard, senior associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). "The CCE Summer Internship Program gives communities access to our smart and talented undergraduate students, and our interns see the impact of putting knowledge to work to support human environmental and economic wellbeing throughout our state."

Adriko's internship culminated in a youth engagement session at the New York State Fair. "We had them do an activity snapshot," Adriko said. "We asked them, if they were to address a challenge in their community, what would they think about in terms of funding, why is the issue important, and who would they have to speak to about it. All of that was grounded in conversations about what existing projects look like and what their next steps could be."

The CCE internships connect students with faculty and extension educators across New York state, said said Kristen Elmore, associate director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research.

"Leaning on their hard work, their intelligence, and creativity through these internships is really a brilliant way to extend how we connect and do extension work," Elmore said.

The partnerships bridge Cornell to Cooperative Extension offices through the state, benefiting both sides, said Basil Safi, executive director of the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement.

"What makes this program special is that it's not simply about an eight-week internship. It's about transforming individual experiences into long-term partnerships that bring value both to the university and to the communities we serve," Safi said. "Unlike many traditional programs that often focus on faculty priorities, we begin by asking our county partners what help they truly need. From there, we go through a matching process to ensure we deliver meaningful support. And in the end, this student-faculty-community collaboration creates lasting, impactful outcomes for everyone involved."

Sandria Jiang '25 worked with the Growing and Learning Together Through Play program, a free eight-week parenting workshop.

"I worked to develop an evaluation survey for the curriculum and to document parents' growth across the program," Jiang said. "I learned that it's important to translate research into real community work and to develop tools to serve the community."

CCE Director Andy Turner introduced the intern presentations at the reception, thanking the county associations for hosting, supporting and helping the students create their projects.

"The diversity of the internship experiences showcased at this reception is always inspiring to me," Turner said. "These internships showcase the breadth and diversity of programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension, leveraging the wealth of resources at Cornell and the expertise of its faculty to create a meaningful and impactful experience for all participants."

Paul Treadwell is a distance learning specialist and writer for Cornell Cooperative Extension.