The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Master of Public Health practicum offers students a chance to apply the skills and knowledge gained in the program to a real-world public health setting. With such a unique opportunity in front of them, students are encouraged to fully immerse themselves in their placement’s culture and the experiences it has to offer. For second-year MPH Global Health Track student Makenna Frenia, that immersion began sooner than anyone could have expected: The moment she landed in her practicum site of Zambia.
“I actually dove into the experience the day after I got there,” Frenia recalled. “On the way to my homestay from the airport, I was told that we’d be going to one of their farming cooperatives the next day and staying overnight.”
That first field visit was just the first of several transformational experiences during her practicum with The Harvest Fund (THF), a Zambian-led social enterprise that empowers female farmers through microfinance loans, sustainable agriculture, market linkage, and education. Over the next month, Frenia would fully embrace this mission and contribute to a number of projects that strengthened both the organization and the Zambian community.
Cultivating a Global Perspective
For Frenia, her practicum was more than a professional milestone; it was a personal reconnection to her roots. Growing up in Ithaca, New York, her family served as friendship partners for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, a Fulbright exchange initiative that brings accomplished international professionals to the U.S. for a year of graduate-level study and professional enrichment. As friendship partners, local families like Frenia’s help fellows adjust to life in the U.S. by offering community connections, cultural exchange, and a sense of belonging beyond campus.
One of those fellows was Ackson Mwanza, who would go on to become the CEO of The Harvest Fund. When Frenia began searching for practicum placements, her mother reconnected them, leading to the opportunity that would bring her to Zambia.
“I grew up with a lot of interest and interaction with international students, international people with different cultures, and that’s where my interest in global health comes from,” Frenia explained. “[My practicum] was such an amazing full-circle experience, and I’m grateful to both [my mother and Ackson] for making it possible.”
Having grown up valuing community and global experiences is why Frenia says she chose to join Vanderbilt’s MPH program. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in animal science at Cornell, she discovered her love for public health and the One Health approach, or the intersectionality of environmental, human, and animal health. VUSM MPH’s faculty and staff immediately supported her in pursuing her current interests while also helping her uncover new passions through hands-on learning opportunities.
“I decided on Vanderbilt because of the small, connected program and its international connections,” she explained. “I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do coming in, but through my courses, the program helped me find my passion for sustainable and accessible food systems.”
From Farming to Facilitating and Beyond
Much of Frenia’s time was spent in the field with The Harvest Fund’s agronomists who frequently traveled to women’s farming cooperatives across Zambia. While there, she helped THF consultants conduct multi-day field workshops where farmers learned to identify pests, manage soil quality, and use solar-powered irrigation to sustain crops year-round. Not all her time in the field was spent at farming cooperatives, though. One of the most unique opportunities during her time was being able to present to the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture to advocate for the expansion of THF’s services.
“I learned firsthand how collaboration with local agriculture officers plays a key role in expanding THF’s reach and welcoming new cooperatives,” she said. “It was inspiring for me to witness the way government partnerships complement community-led efforts to empower women farmers and strengthen sustainable agriculture.”
On days she wasn’t in the field, Frenia worked to improve administrative processes and create new educational materials. Through the creation of capacity-building workshops, grant translation and editing, and a culturally tailored nutrition curriculum, Frenia was able to empower and inspire independence in her THF team members, the farmers they serve, and even herself.
“I learned how to communicate effectively with cultural humility, cross-cultural understanding and engagement, and collaboration,” she said. “Building those skills really increased my confidence.”
Back in the U.S., Frenia holds the lessons she learned in Zambia close as she completes her final year in the MPH program. Reflecting on her work with The Harvest Fund, she says her practicum not only helped grow her skills but also inspired her post-grad plans.
“I was able to see a lot of the work that I’ve learned about being practiced in the real world for the first time,” she said. “This experience tied together all my interests in global health, sustainable agriculture, business, social innovation, and now I really see those things in my professional future.”
Applications for Vanderbilt’s Master of Public Health program are now open. Learn more and apply by the December 15 priority deadline at https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/mph/