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Posted: August 5, 2005
When City of Plano Environmental Health Intern Chrystalyn Harrison (above
left) first learned of an opening in the Department on the City’s website
during an Internship Preparation class she knew it was the job for her.
She’d be another step closer to entering the health field, ending up in the
medical community helping others.
When she began her internship with Environmental Health this summer,
however, she was met not with a medical thermometer and a batch of patients
in a waiting room, but rather with a meat thermometer and a batch of
restaurants waiting for food quality inspections.
“I was not aware the Health Department was not on the medical side of health
and only did inspections,” said Ms. Harrison smiling over a stack of plan
reviews. “Before I started interning, I didn’t even know where Health
Inspectors could be found.”
Now, after a summer of assisting field inspectors in ensuring restaurants
meet stringent food safety requirements for the protection of public health
Ms. Harrison has set her sights on a newly modified “health career.”
“The love of helping people drew me into the Health field. I love helping
people and making them happy,” Ms. Harrison said. “I have always known I
would end up in a hospital or the community helping others. But now I’m
strongly considering taking the state exam to become a Registered Sanitarian
and practice the skill of being a Health Inspector. I have all ready applied
for positions in two cities and am awaiting a response.”
Whether you are looking for a volunteer internship to attain professional or
classroom goals, or whether you simply wish to spend your time in an
enjoyable, creative way, giving back to your community, the City’s Volunteer
Resource Group is your route to a wide variety of volunteer opportunities.
“We got connected with Chrystalyn through Volunteer Resources,” said Tomeji
Miller, Inspection Services Supervisor, pictured above right. “We usually
offer internships twice a year and it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
We’ve been delighted with Chrystalyn’s work. She has assisted us with FDA
performance standards, both food and swimming pool field inspections and
provided valued input on our projects and programs.”
Ms. Harrison echoes those sentiments. “This experience has been very
beneficial. My favorite part of this position has been going out into the
field and assisting the Inspectors with their routine inspections. I am
learning about what to do in order to become a Registered Sanitarian and
about which restaurants are at higher risk than others. The staff here are
very helpful and have taken me in like one of their own.”
Volunteer positions with the City of Plano are diverse and challenging.
Prospective volunteers can chose from a multitude of one-time, short or
long-term positions. Besides enabling the City to meet program goals and
undertake special projects funding may not permit, volunteers also provide
new insights and spirit into the areas they are assigned.
A major goal of the volunteer program is to ensure volunteers are provided
with meaningful and rewarding work that matches the interest of the
volunteer, enabling them to derive satisfaction in knowing they are making a
difference while enhancing or learning new skills.
During her summer tenure, Ms. Harrison contributed over 360 hours of time to
Environmental Health initiatives, working seven hours a day. She is an
undergraduate student majoring in Health Studies from Texas Women’s
University. Her internship ends this coming week.
For information on year-round opportunities with the City of Plano, call Ms.
Robin Popik, Volunteer Resource Supervisor, 972-941-7114, or enter the
Volunteer Resource Group website.
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