Education:

M.S in Life Sciences | Nov 2017

B.S in Oceanography| Aug 2015

Certifications:

Food Handling Manager Certification of Achievement | Dec 2019

National Nutrition Program Certification of Achievement– Extension Utah State University |May 2020

Fernanda Ariza joined the Will County Extension team in October of 2019 and does direct education in the community for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed). Her work focuses in the City of Joliet, IL where she dedicates her time delivering nutrition education to families or individuals in the community that are food insecure or receiving SNAP benefits (e.g. possess a link card), as well as children in schools that have 50% or more of its students receiving free or reduced lunch.

She is bilingual and offers SNAP-Ed programs both English and in Spanish in the community.

Her previous experience doing direct education in the community include the following:

• Tutored high school students in chemistry, math and physics  to relieve community hours during her college years.
• Conducted science experiments for elementary children as part of an after school program, called “Fun Science”.
• Participated in a platform that brought informative discussions on buzz words (e.g. cholesterol, importance of vaccinations and other topics) to the common public in local pubs and bars during the weekends, as part of her community outreach requisite to obtain her graduate degree.
• Environmental work in her community—developed a deposit system to encourage neighborhood cleanliness and plastic recycling during her undergrad years.
• Taught a lab course on systems biology for six months to undergraduate students of the Center for NanoSciences and Nanotechnology of UNAM.