by Matthew Strasburger | University Communication and Marketing
Through the Rural Fellows Program, Naidaly Gonzalez Miranda is working alongside town leadership in Gibbon, Nebraska, to emphasize physical and mental health.
Ever since spending her high school summers building community gardens around Omaha, Miranda envisioned a future working at the nexus of agriculture and community wellness.
“I think when people hear ‘agriculture,’ they think of it nationally, rather than locally, and we should instead emphasize the importance of wellness in our smaller agricultural communities,” Miranda, a junior agricultural leadership major, said.
As a Rural Fellow in Gibbon this summer, Miranda is following through on that goal. Working with community leaders, she created a Wellness Week in the central Nebraska town meant to strengthen community ties and act as a form of outreach to Gibbon’s significant Hispanic population.
Miranda’s Wellness Week will have five days of unique programming meant to spark conversation and expand access to all sorts of health-related needs in the community. This will range from informational sessions on Medicare and Medicaid access and factory worker safety to yoga classes and a farmers’ market.
“Personally, I see community wellness as not just physical but also mental wellness,” she said. “Growing up in a first-generation, low-income household, I know how big of a role food security plays in community wellness, which is why I’m passionate about our rural communities.”
The more time she spends in Gibbon, she said, the more her passion to get involved grows.
“Coming from Omaha to this rural community, I was a little concerned I wouldn’t fit in, but everyone has been so welcoming,” she said. “It’s such a tight knit place — everyone is so respectful, responsible, accountable and excited to help out on this project. I feel like I’ve become part of this community.”
In the end, Miranda hopes lay a foundation in Gibbon that the community can build on for years to come.
“The main goal is empowering people to learn from each other, voice their opinions and to think as a community about the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual resources that they need to be healthy,” she said.