Photo provided by Jonah Fisher

For Jonah Fisher ’26, an internship with a local nonprofit led to a job where he is already practicing the skills from his Franklin & Marshall classes.

Fisher completed an internship with Homefields, a nonprofit in Millersville, Pa., that engages people with disabilities or other barriers to traditional employment in growing organic produce at their Care Farm.

“Homefields follows a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model, in which customers ‘buy in’ to the harvest share for the year,” he said.

Fisher, an anthropology major, was drawn to the internship because it intersected with his academic work. “I took an interest in alternative modes of making our food and communities right here in Lancaster.”

His work this summer led to an offer to continue working virtually with Homefields as he completes his junior year at F&M. 

Read more about Jonah’s experience below.

What did a typical day of your summer experience look like?

I split my time between an internship at Homefields in Millersville and my job at the Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster. I was Homefields’ Care Farm development planner, working collaboratively with farm and executive staff members to apply for grants to expand the organization. 

Day to day, most of my time was spent in the fields with the farm staff, doing the actual agricultural work to provide for our shareholders. I often helped host volunteer groups, learned about the many intricacies of farming, and returned to my roots a little bit, having grown up in rural Illinois.

After this summer, I was offered a job to stay at Homefields virtually and support their growth. I now work there directly under the board president. 

How did you learn about this opportunity, and what inspired you to take on this experience?

I learned about this opportunity through the Ware Institute for Civic Engagement. I’ve worked with them and their partners for the duration of my time at F&M. I took this Homefields internship in particular because of the throughlines with my academic work.

As an anthropology major, I’ve focused much of my work on Lancaster’s communities. I received the Solomon Wank Peace and Human Rights Research Award to pursue food as an entry point to interrogate climate change, capitalism, disability, race and community-making procedures.

What skills have you been able to learn or practice through the work you’ve been doing?

At the top of my mind is grant writing and application work. Grants are often complex, requiring collaboration, institutional knowledge, and fantastic writing skills to stand out. My continued interest in nonprofit work has given me amazing opportunities to develop this skill.

Community-making has also become an important skill for me. Building connections, bringing people together, and mediating differences is a practice. Anthropology at F&M teaches us to make those connections while making where we come from weird again; this experience has let me put that philosophy into practice.

This summer experience has confirmed my interest in pursuing anthropology at the graduate level while setting me up for success in the nonprofit sector. It’s great to have skills that will serve me for the rest of my career!

What did you find most interesting or surprising about this experience?

The most surprising thing about working at Homefields and grappling with hunger in Lancaster is that so many people have no clue what goes into their food. So much labor goes into everything you eat, from work on a farm to shipping and delivery. And to many of us, it is invisible.

Why did you choose to attend F&M?

I came from a STEM high school in Illinois, and three years of study dedicated to the sciences was not for me. I chose to apply only to liberal arts colleges for their dedication to exploring multiple kinds of knowledge, and I decided to apply only to colleges outside of Illinois.

But I really chose F&M for Lancaster. My dad and I were downtown the first night we were here after the Admitted Student Day events, and I just remember feeling at home. Stopping at coffee shops, eating great food at Flora’s, and feeling the press of rowhomes on the hills. It felt amazing; no other college on my list showed Lancaster up.

I knew I had made the right choice when, having awakened from our hotel stop in Ohio, I came through the Appalachians at sunrise. There’s nothing like that sight, and I haven’t regretted my choice since then, especially with all the fantastic opportunities I’ve had.