{"id":19726,"date":"2026-10-15T10:05:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T14:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/?p=19726"},"modified":"2026-10-15T18:27:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T22:27:28","slug":"norah-aguirre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/news\/norah-aguirre\/","title":{"rendered":"Norah Aguirre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A triple major in Spanish<\/a> and Anthropology<\/a> (B.A.) and Environmental Education <\/a>(B.S.), Norah Aguirre \u201926 put her education into action as a Cooperative Extension Agriculture and Food Systems Fellow at the Farm and Forest Education Center at Pat\u2019s Pastured in East Greenwich, R.I.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The year-long, paid program pairs URI students with public- and private-sector mentors on real environmental management projects, alongside coursework, summer industry training, and professional development.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What drew you to this particular fellowship opportunity?<\/strong>
I am interning at the Farm and Forest Education Center at Pat’s Pastured in East Greenwich. My mentors are Stacy Gale and Kelly McNiff, and through working with them, I’ve learned so many incredible teaching strategies and ways to educate children (and adults) about farms and where their food comes from. During the interview and application process for Agriculture and Food Systems Fellows, I was drawn to the variety of programming F&F offered and how I could combine my love for Environmental Education with my interest in farming and agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are you working on through your fellowship? What are the goals of your project, and what does your day-to-day work look like?<\/strong>
Throughout this year, I’ve helped to run field trips, create educational curriculum, facilitate summer camp activities, and run homeschool and preschool programs. Everyday on the farm is different, and I’ve learned a lot about the ways I can make being outdoors and at the farm fun for a wide array of students. This fall, as I finish up my hours, I’ve been working with younger children- ages 3-5. One of my goals this summer is to build confidence working with all age groups, and this program (Little Acorns) has helped me feel much more confident with the littles! Additionally, we’ve had few field trips on the farm this fall, and it’s been really meaningful to be able to give kids the experience of engaging with a functioning farm. Some of the groups we’ve had contain kids who have never been to a farm before, and to watch their growth over such a short time at the farm has been incredible. students who at the beginning of the program were scared to sit on the grass are wrangling chickens and collecting eggs by the end of the day. It’s so awesome to witness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has been the most rewarding or memorable part of the experience so far? Is there a particular moment, accomplishment, or interaction that stands out?<\/strong>
This summer, I would regularly take summer camp groups out to where the laying hens are out on pasture. Depending on the group, this activity would sometimes be a blast, and other times more challenging. Learning how to think up on the spot, how to create a more comfortable and safe environment for both the campers and the chickens was something I got really good at, and it’s really cool to see how my own experience and comfort around livestock has positively changed. This spring, we had a 3-day field trip program with the Paul Cuffee School, and each day, the 4th graders grew more and more confident of their<\/p>\n\n\n

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How has your fellowship experience complemented what you\u2019re learning in the classroom? Have you gained skills, knowledge, or perspectives through the fellowship that you wouldn\u2019t have gotten from coursework alone?<\/strong>
This fellowship has been incredibly applicable to what I’ve been learning in the classroom. As an Environmental Education major, I’ve gotten to strengthen my skills in lesson planning for outdoor programs, as well as learning incredibly valuable teaching skills from my amazing mentors Stacy and Kelly, who both have experience as teachers in and outside of the classroom. Because the space is located on a historical site: The Briggs-Boesch farm, I’ve gotten to put some of my Anthropology major skills to the test, and have worked to create material that has gotten students to think more deeply about the land they are standing on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fellowships also provide professional development opportunities beyond your work with your host organization. Which of those opportunities have been particularly helpful, and how have they shaped your experience?<\/strong>
Going to our Industry Training Days over the summer has been a great way for me to grow networking skills. Specifically, I think the day that Agriculture and Food Systems Fellows (AFS) got to take a trip to Moonstone Oyster Farm and Earthcare farm were the most impactful. I got to see all the ways that I can apply the skills that I’ve been learning this year into a career- which as a graduating senior, feels quite intimidating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has your experience been like working with and receiving support from Kate and Sejal? Is there a particular way their guidance has helped you during the fellowship?<\/strong>
Working with Kate and Sejal has been incredible. They are always so excited to hear about what we’ve been working on at our placements and are always super supportive whenever I’ve had questions or concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has the fellowship changed how you think about your field of study or what you might want to do after graduation? If so, how?<\/strong>
Being a part of this fellowship has only made me more excited to enter my field of study. It has shown me all the ways I can utilize Environmental Education, and how to make it more exciting and accessible to a broader range of people. On a more personal note, being able to explore and be exposed to the many aspects of raising livestock and running a farm has made me more excited to maybe one day start my own farm, or do more work in farm\/agricultural education.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Is there anything else about your fellowship experience that you\u2019d like to share, like something you think people should know about the work you\u2019re doing or what you\u2019ve gained from the experience?<\/strong>
To anyone applying for this fellowship: Be yourself. I know it’s cliche, but when I was applying for this program, I spoke about any and everything that I found interesting and exciting. You’d be surprised how much you’ll be able to stand out by listing “Hula Hooping Instructor” in your resume. I’ve learned that it’s valuable to talk to whoever you’re around. Building a solid network has been a really valuable skill that I’ve gained this year. As soon as I hear something mention a topic that I’m interested in or curious about, I am quick to follow up and ask them about their experience. You never know what opportunities a 30 second conversation could bring!
I’m so grateful for the experiences and connections I’ve made through this fellowship. I’m beyond grateful to have been placed with Stacy and Kelly this year, as they’ve been incredible mentors and are amazing at what they do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Agriculture and Food Systems Fellow, Spanish and Anthropology (B.A.), and Environmental Education (B.S.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5153,"featured_media":19727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,362],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-student-profile"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19726"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19735,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19726\/revisions\/19735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}