08/11/2026
Meet CSHIP Rising Star Intern Sophia Hamm!
We’re excited to shine a spotlight on Sophia Hamm, a Brattleboro native, rising junior, and nursing major at Simmons University, who has been making a meaningful impact through her College Student Health Internship Program (CSHIP) with The Collaborative in Londonderry, VT.
Over the past few months, Sophia has taken on an important project ,helping to revise four one-page policy guides focused on alcohol, cannabis, to***co, and equity. These guides will be used by the Bennington County Regional Commission
Sophia has been collecting data, redesigning layouts, and making sure the information is relevant, accessible, and useful to communities. The guides will help towns better understand how municipal planning and environmental ordinances can support substance misuse prevention and healthier communities.
“I have learned so much in this internship like project management and self-discipline. More importantly, with my supervisor’s guidance, I have made this project my own. I now see the broader role of nursing in a community setting, and what a career in public health nursing might look like.”
Victoria Silsby, Prevention Coordinator and Sophia’s supervisor, has been impressed by her dedication:
“Sophia has embraced the important and often overlooked third component of substance misuse prevention—policy, also known as environmental strategies.”
Victoria adds that Sophia’s diligent research and attention to detail have helped her understand how policy can create lasting, positive impacts on community health.
Sophia’s work is a great example of how prevention, public health, nursing, and community planning intersect to build healthier communities.
We’re proud to have Sophia as part of the CSHIP family and can’t wait to see where her passion for public health takes her next!
Vermont Health Careers Northern Vermont AHEC Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) Vermont Department of Health North Star Health
