Student Internship Projects & Other Opportunities
The Arizona Center for Rural Health staff work with professional, graduate and undergraduate students to complete internship projects or staff opportunities impacting rural and urban underserved areas. Students can conduct a community assessment for use in developing a program plan; design, implement, and evaluate a health education program for a selected target population in the community; research and produce draft public health legislation that impacts a community, or complete biostatistical analysis and prepare quantitative public health data reports.
Examples:
- Community Health Needs Assessments
- Literature Reviews and Research
- Project SHARE Coordination, Assessment, and Marketing
- Coalition Participation
- Event and training logistics coordination
- Monthly Webinar Scheduling
- Critical Access Hospital Bypass Reports
- Marketing and Social Media Development
- Blogs, newsletters, and reports publishing
Rural Health Internships and Other Student A/B/C Opportunities:
- Technical Assistance Coordinator - POSITION CLOSED.
- Evaluation Coordinator - Collaborate with the Comprehensive Pain and Addiction Center to evaluate Project FUTRE and support efforts for both Project FUTRE and CPAC at large. POSITION CLOSED.
- Needs Assessment Coordinator - POSITION CLOSED.
- SHARE Coordinator - The AzCRH SHARE Coordinator will help the Center coordinate, assess, and improve education and evaluation content for Students Helping Arizona Register Everyone (Project SHARE), a student group that trains health professional students about health insurance coverage basics and resources. Position Available Summer 2021 to Spring 2022.
- AzMAT Mentor Program - POSITION CLOSED.
NOTE: The AzCRH student application portal accepts general applications on a rolling basis. Specific positions open and close periodically, as they become available and are filled. Thank you for your patience in this process. Students have "Allowable Work Hours" that range from 20 to 35 hours per week. If a student has a GA/TAship or work study, the student's total weekly hours must be within the max "Allowable Work Hours." For more information about Student A/B/C hours and policies and to see if you qualify to apply, click HERE.
Want to advertise a rural internship project?
Please fill out the form and send a pdf version to Melissa Quezada at melissaquezada@email.arizona.edu.
UA Internship Guidance and Policies are available HERE
Current Interns:
Martin Caudillo is the Arizona Center for Rural Health Technical Assistant Coordinator supporting the Opioid Data to Action grant. Martin received his Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences with an emphasis in Legal Policy from Arizona State University in 2020. He is currently a Masters of Public Health student at the University of Arizona with a degree focus in Applied Epidemiology. Martin hopes to pursue a career focusing on the importance of quality services, cost containment and access to health care for Arizona minority groups. Martin works at the Arizona Department of Health as a License Surveyor inspecting Sober Living Homes and is a Certified Nursing Assistant working as a COVID-19 Response Nurse assisting the deployment of testing within Maricopa County.
Jordan Flake is a Public Health graduate student and will be graduating in May 2021 with a concentration in applied epidemiology. He is currently an intern with the Center for Rural Health supporting project SHARE as student coordinator. Before working with SHARE, Jordan completed his undergraduate degree in Molecular & Cellular Biology at the University of Arizona in 2017. He has collaborated on research with the Department of Radiology as well as MindCrowd Healthy Aging Together as a student ambassador. His primary research focus involves increasing access to care for rural and other underserved populations.
Aimee Gutierrez is a Student-C: Coordinator at the Center for Rural Health (CRH). She helps coordinate Opioid Overdose Recognition and Naloxone Administration Trainings statewide. She oversees training logistics and facilitates in both English and Spanish. Ms. Gutierrez is an Undergraduate student at the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management pursuing a BA in Economics with minors in Finance and Spanish. Ms. Gutierrez is from San Luis, AZ, a small border town and she strives to serve and aid her community.
Eniola Idowu is a Student C: Evaluation Coordinator for the AzMAT Mentors Program with the Center for Rural Health. Eniola received her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from the University of Arizona in 2020. Currently, she is a Masters of Public Health student with a focus in Health Behavior Health Promotion. Eniola hopes to pursue a career in clinical psychology and promote mental health access for racial/ethnic youth populations. She has collaborated on research with the Southwest Institute Research on Women assisted in evaluating a suicide prevention program at UA Campus Health. Her primary research goals involve reducing mental health disparities and improving access to services to Black communities.
Estefanía Mendivil is a Student-C: Coordinator at the Center for Rural Health (CRH). Estefanía enhances training materials by ensuring they are culturally and linguistically responsive to healthcare providers offering MAT in Arizona. Estefanía is an undergraduate student at the University of Arizona, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and The College of Science pursuing a BA in Psychology and Latin American Studies with a minor in Human Sexuality. Estefanía’s pronouns are she/her/Ella or they/them/elle. Estefanía is originally from Tijuana, Mexico, a border city, but moved to Phoenix, Arizona as a child. Their ultimate goal is to provide culturally and linguistically responsive reproductive health resources and education to LGBTQIA+, Latine communities.
Bianca Santamaria was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. She is fluent in English and Spanish, and enjoys traveling. She has over 8 years of experience working with underserved populations, and expertise establishing a network of resources for those in need. She received her Bachelor of Science in Public Health from The University of Arizona, and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in the College of Public Health, in the Health Administration concentration. Bianca is passionate about research, and strives to ensure everyone receives quality healthcare, access to services to achieve better health outcomes.
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Former Interns: Experiences and Advice
Elena Cameron
Internship Title: Prevention Intern, Fall 2018-Spring 2019
Supervisor: Alyssa Padilla
Projects Completed at AzCRH: Accumulating and editing content for trifolds for multiple audiences, assisting with the coordination and implementation of the MAPIC Opioid Symposium, Completing basic literature reviews as asked, Editing living resource documents for distribution.
Advice for Future Interns: "Thinking outside of the box and at least trying to make opportunities. With a polite question, the worst thing that can happen is a potential mentor/supervisor says no. It's worth a shot to ask!"
Kelly Rogel
Internship Title: Prevention Intern, Spring 2018
Supervisor: Alyssa Padilla
Projects Completed at AzCRH: Created a visual representation of neonatal abstinence syndrome in Arizona targeting consumers and physicians.
"The mission of AzCRH aligned with my interests and provided insight into my future career path. I knew that working alongside an organization committed to their target population would motivate me to enjoy my projects. In addition, AzCRH provided the perfect professional setting to apply my skills and gain new ones."
Advice for Future Interns: "Take this opportunity to flourish as a professional by being proactive on leading projects/deliverable you are passionate about. Explore new interests and challenge yourself!"
Celine Bui
Internship Title: Medicare & Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (AzFlex) Intern, Spring 2017
Supervisor: Jill Bullock
Projects Completed at AzCRH: Compile statewide Community Health Needs Assessments, assist with the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP), help create the internship profile webpage, and compile rural resources and articles
“I have encountered patients who struggle with accessing quality healthcare, which was a motivating factor in my interest of pursuing a career as Physician Assistant. I thought that interning with AzCRH would provide me the opportunity to gain a better understanding on the issues that rural and underserved population face when accessing quality healthcare and the factors that can help improve the healthcare delivery system.”
Advice for Future Interns: “… find something that they are passionate about and to not be afraid to reach out to agencies to see if there are opportunities available and doing something that is out of their comfort zone. They should engage in activities, such as volunteering, to gain a better understanding on what their interest are and what they are passionate about. When preparing for the career they want to go into, they should follow their own pace. Even though someone may be at a different place in their career than where they are at, they should not feel rushed and to just take small steps at a time and do what is best for them.”
For more information about internships, email Melissa Quezada, melissaquezada@email.arizona.edu.
