The UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute’s (FPG’s) Implementation Division recently wrapped up its third annual Implementation Division Summer Internship Program, a paid opportunity for masters' and doctoral students. The program, which is designed to create a challenging and meaningful professional experience, exposes interns to implementation practice and research across a variety of fields and practice settings.

The three interns of this year’s cohort recently took time to reflect on their experiences in the internship program and answer a few questions. Here’s what they each had to say:

Marie David, MEd, BCBA, spent the summer supporting the State Implementation and Scale-up of Evidence-based Practices (SISEP) Team in redeveloping the Active Implementation (AI) Hub. She primarily worked on providing user feedback on the current content and developing new content for modules.

How has this internship contributed to your professional growth?

While I could highlight several areas that have contributed to my professional growth, there are two areas to which this internship has contributed the most. First, through my work in the AI HUB, I was given the opportunity to deepen my understanding of the AI Framework and its related components. Second, I was able to learn more about the work done by implementation specialists as they facilitate the implementation of evidence-based practices in school and how they work to build sustainable systems. This broader understanding has been so meaningful for me given that much of my training has been very granular.

Was there anything challenging about the internship that led to your professional growth?

I wouldn’t say that any part of the internship was particularly challenging. Rather, the experience as a whole felt more like a practical learning experience in which I was able to observe facilitators of implementation science in action. I was given the opportunity to engage with individuals who actively utilize implementation science in the field to increase the use of evidenced-based practices within the school settings.

What has the internship meant to you personally?

I initially sought this internship with SISEP due to my interest in understanding the practice of implementation science. I wanted to learn more about how implementation science was used in practice, given that my knowledge was limited to the information from my journal articles and book chapters. This internship allowed me to not only deepen my learning, but also it allowed me to view the actual practice in action. Personally, there haven’t been many opportunities that allowed me to take a step back and engage with individuals who put the gains of research into practice. The meetings and the shadowing experience provided a glimpse of how the actual practice of implementation science is bridged with the research of implementation science. These experiences have been the most valuable to me as I begin to map out my career path as an academic.

What would you say to those applying for the internship program in the future?

Come with the mindset of a learner because there is much to gain in understanding a field that may not be your own. The relationships that you will build and learning experiences you will gain through this short program will be worth taking the step out of your comfort zone.

Megan Faber, a student in the Masters of Public Health program at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, worked with the Implementation Capacity for Triple P (ICTP) project, helping with tasks around developing messages and tools to support efforts to implement and scale-up the Positive Parenting Program system of interventions, or Triple P. Her primary focuses were highlighting stories from the field via The Implementeer newsletter and creating reinforcement games as part of the ICTP Simulation Lab redesign.

How has this internship contributed to your professional growth?

This internship has been full of opportunities that allowed me to get to know folks with a wide variety of expertise at FPG, as well as opportunities to get involved with various projects related to Triple P. As a student new to the public health field, the Implementation Division Internship has given me a chance to see what it’s like to be a professional actively doing public health work. With the knowledge and skills that I have gained over the past few weeks, I have been able to create products that I hope will have a meaningful effect on the implementation of Triple P and gain valuable experience in public health implementation work.

Was there anything challenging about the internship that led to your professional growth?

One thing that I found challenging about the internship was working on a few projects at a time that I found really interesting but having a relatively short timeframe to see them through. While that comes with the nature of a summer internship, I think that this was also a valuable opportunity for professional growth in that I had to prioritize certain projects or pieces of projects and try to learn what I could in the time that I had.

What has the internship meant to you personally?

Each of the projects that I took part in this summer and each step I took along the way all seemed to come back to the theme of thinking creatively about implementation science and using different platforms to communicate messages about the Triple P intervention. This was very much in line with not only the goals I had for this internship experience, but the aspirations that I have as a developing professional in the field of public health. This experience has been a great opportunity to finally put a name on the type of work that I have found so interesting throughout my education and to take a deep, practical dive into implementation science work.

What would you say to those applying for the internship program in the future?

To those applying for the internship program in the future, I would say to look forward to all the opportunities that accompany this internship, beyond just the project work alone. There is such a great attitude toward professional development, personal growth, and overall learning that is exemplified through mentoring, meeting with folks at FPG who work on a multitude of projects, and encouraging critical thinking about implementation work.

Adrianna Richards, a doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at UNC, compiled, analyzed, and presented data on Triple P implementation efforts across the state of North Carolina.

How has this internship contributed to your professional growth?

This internship provided the opportunity to work with and learn from professionals across multiple levels of implementation efforts, shadow implementation specialists working on different projects, and learn about key implementation principles that can be taken and applied to our own work moving forward. It's provided valuable learning opportunities and a peek behind the curtain of implementation science.

Was there anything challenging about the internship that led to your professional growth?

Working hands-on with implementation efforts means running into practical, everyday challenges. Doing so with such tremendous support from my supervisors has allowed me to further develop my creative problem-solving skills, which has in turn left me feeling better prepared for my future professional endeavors.

What has the internship meant to you personally?

This has been a great opportunity to enter a field with humility and eagerness to learn about the real-life applications of the theoretical work I am used to doing, which will undoubtedly enrich the way I approach future projects. I have so valued my time here and am very grateful for the support, guidance, and warmth with which I was met at FPG.

What would you say to those applying for the internship program in the future?

Do it! Anyone interested in helping people is interested in implementation science. Know that you have just as much to offer as you do to learn from this experience. Even if implementation science feels like an unfamiliar term to you, there is so much to be gained from the work you will do here, and the things you will learn will easily carry forward to help you bring a more nuanced perspective to the work you will do.