I completed my internship at the State University Health Research Center. The HRC was launched in March 2014 by the National School of Medicine. Its mission is to use the community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to build community capacity and leadership in health promotion and disease prevention among the county's diverse populations. The HRC is funded by a 5-year, $4.1 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through the Prevention Research Centers program. The PRC collaborates with various community organizations, including the Community Health Center, Korean Community Services, Workers Alliance, and other community organizations. HRC's main research project is the RICE (Reaching Immigrants through Community Empowerment) project and my internship work took place within this project. project. Project RICE is a five-year community initiative that aims to promote diabetes prevention among immigrants using the community health worker (CHW) model. My specific task during the internship was to develop a mental health component for the RICE project. I carried out my assignments under the supervision of a faculty member; Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith is a professor of applied psychology. Dr. Smith conducts research on the impact of immigration, community contexts, individual differences, and racial minority status on the mental health of individuals and families. On August 17, I shadowed Dr. Jones for the Leadership Observation Experience. Dr. Jones is a researcher for the PRC. I attended a morning meeting at the community health center with HRC staff where they discussed training activities for an upcoming PRC conference. After the meeting, we moved to the PRC offices which...... middle of paper ......t and its problems. Working at the PRC with the different community partners made me learn to think in a collaborative approach on how to achieve objectives; first, unite the goals, and second, achieve them together. This collaborative approach will maximize benefits for all parties and leverage everyone’s resources. It is important to note that collaborating with others requires patience and time. In addition, empowering employees, through capacity building, as in the case of the PRC, is an excellent concept. This will build on individual strengths and result in increased collective power of the group. In conclusion, I think my internship was a rich learning experience. I have been exposed to various community organizations and have the opportunity to interact and communicate with people with varied backgrounds, experiences and perspectives..