By Audrey Bunnell, Swette Center student worker
Teresa Terroba Rivero’s passion for food systems reform is rooted in lived experience. Born in Mexico and raised across different regions of the country, she witnessed the reality of food insecurity firsthand.
One of Teresa’s most impactful memories of this hardship comes from the city of San Luis Potosí, where she and her brother sold homemade cookies, Jello, and flan in the park near their school. Among their regular customers was a young girl and her grandparents. As time passed and they became friends, Teresa learned that they were homeless and food insecure, struggling to secure basic needs despite living in the heart of a bustling city. She tried her best to help them, but the experience left her with a lingering question: Why was food insecurity so pervasive, even in places of abundance?
After moving to the U.S. a few years later, she encountered food insecurity yet again—this time in her school cafeteria. She had friends who relied on free lunch programs while, at the same time, she saw large amounts of food regularly wasted by other students. These moments spurred Teresa’s interest in food systems and inspired her to help create a more equitable and sustainable world.
Now an undergraduate student at Arizona State University majoring in sustainable food systems, Teresa is already putting her passion into practice with an Engineering Projects in Community Service initiative called Food Web. The project aims to reduce food deserts across Maricopa County by strengthening community gardens and connecting residents to their local food system.
Additionally, through the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems and School of Sustainability’s USDA NextGen program, Teresa is gaining valuable professional experience in addressing local food systems challenges as an intern with the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA).
Read on to hear from Teresa about her motivations, experiences, and takeaways from her internship.
Question: Why did you choose to do a USDA NextGen internship?
Answer: I chose to do a USDA NextGen internship to observe real change in the food system and learn what it takes for that change to happen. I was also excited about the opportunity to meet stakeholders in the food system and learn about the struggles they face when it comes to providing food for their community.
Q: What does a typical day look like at your internship? What are some of the tasks and responsibilities that you've been given?
A: A typical day in my internship starts at 8am in downtown Phoenix at the AZDA building on Mondays and Wednesdays. I work remotely the other days of the week. Before I begin, I usually meet with my supervisors and give them a run-through of what I'm working on, then ask for any updates. Some of the tasks I have worked on include researching different state programs that aim to promote local produce and farmers' markets, as well as finding ways to improve the Arizona Grown® program website and social media. It’s also common for me and the other AZDA staff to attend events hosted by local farms once or twice a week, where they give presentations about the challenges they are facing and how they are working to overcome them.
Q: How has this internship helped you start your career journey?
A: To say the USDA NextGen internship is a resume builder is an understatement. The amount of contacts and experience I have gained during my internship are priceless. Although I've yet to see for certain how this will impact my career journey, I’m planning to use the knowledge I’ve gained from this program to start a business that helps local farmers in the area.
Q: What piece of advice would you give to those doing a similar internship in the future?
A: As an intern, my advice is to listen, observe, and ask as many questions as you can before sharing some of your ideas. I would also advise that, since many internships will not give you deadlines to complete things like a college class does, it’s important to have strong time management skills so that you can set your own deadlines and complete your work efficiently.