Meet an Intern

Find out what it’s like to be a Holistic Living Center Intern. 2009-2010 intern Andrew Miller, 23, tells us about his experience working at Ecoterra Health Market and living at the Myra House Holistic Living Center.
by Hanna Kang

What did you do before coming to the Myra House Holistic Living Center?
I attended Penn State and studied nutrition, premed, philosophy, and art. I was certified as a holistic health counselor from the Institute of Integrated Nutrition in NYC but hadn’t been practicing.

What drew you to the internship? How did you find out about it?
I was living with a friend near Penn State University when we decided to drive across the country to get his car over to his parent’s house in Claremont. I didn’t know what I was going to do but when I got here, I came into Ecoterra Health Market with my friend and his mother and talked with Myra about my eczema. Myra had an intuitive sense that the internship might be a good fit for me and suggested I apply. I applied soon after and started September 1st, 2009.

What has been the highlight of your internship so far?
The routine they [internship staff] have developed is a crucial part of the internship. With the meditation services, community dinners and community gardening as well as working at the store–I have a great routine and schedule. It feels like a fluid thing how I got involved. I was studying yoga and meditation with a teacher and it was helpful that I could continue with some kind of practice.

We all have different schedules even though we see each other at work. The community dinners are a time when we can all hang out together. It’s always quite humorous–everyone has a great sense of humour. After dinner, we have the meditation service.

What is the meditation service like?
I was raised Reformed Jewish but not too religious. I’ve been doing yoga on and off for the past 5 years, having a meditation practice starting last summer. Here, it’s pretty much nondenominational. There is Jesus on the cross and Sung and Guntram read from the Bible but at the same time it’s open. That’s where they are coming from. I’m allowed to read from whatever I’m comfortable with or interested in. We say what we’re grateful for, hopeful for and then have seven to ten minutes of silence.

We’re drawn together by community and wanting to evolve individually because we have time and space for ourselves but also space to evolve together.

What has impacted you the most among the things you’re learning?
Being Myra’s pharmacy assistant has taught me the most. She’s given me more books to read to become more knowledgeable about the compounding pharmacy that is opening soon. Nutritional healing. I have time to read what I’m interested in. That’s usually what I share during the meditation. I’ve been reading Loving What Is by Byron and another book called A Thousand Names for Joy.

Where do you see yourself heading?
The internship has affirmed more of what I’ve been interested in. I’m grateful that I’ve come upon this type of setting because it’s an ideal setting that I didn’t necessarily know existed even though I’ve been to co-ops and intentional communities before. It’s a hybrid with the garden, the co-op house, trying to be sustainable, and this store which brings about a larger community which we can interact with and communicate with. I’d like to stay and help out more with the pharmacy and do health counseling here through the store or through Myra House. I like to talk to people and help them assess where they’re at with their health.