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By Alexandra Hanson

On Monday, interns from the Vermont campus volunteered with Friends of the Winooski at two locations: North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier and Dog River Park in Northfield.

Earlier in the year, trees had been planted to stop erosion along the river’s edge, however weeds and vines had since grown around the trees and encroached upon their ability to survive. This is where the interns came in.

Initial hesitancy soon turned into a divide-and-conquer effort to chop down the unwanted plants. The lovely 95-degree day led to some serious blood, sweat, and tears – with extra emphasis on the sweat – from the group.

At National Life, having employees get out and do good in our community is a big part of our culture. The interns won’t be here forever, in fact they’re only here for two more weeks, but providing them with firsthand experience on how we live our values is something they’ll carry with them even after their internships are over.

Plus, some of the interns decided to end their day with a cooling swim in the river… not a bad way to start the week!