Hey everyone! It’s Kelci Free checking in from Benton County once again. My internship with the Extension groundwater protection and education program is nearing its end and it is safe to say the past few months of this internship have been packed full of new learning experiences for me.  

I was able to teach youth programming, help out at a county fair, run booths at farmers markets testing well water for nitrate, plan various events, and I even got to spend a day helping with a 4-H camp. There have been countless lessons learned with each of these experiences and have learned so much from each person I got the opportunity to work with. I have learned how to be a professional, how much teamwork and communication are needed as well as the ability to problem-solve and improvise on the fly.  

This summer has been very eye-opening and informative for me to see what types of things I could be doing in Extension as a possible future career. This has been a huge summer of personal growth for me that I will be using moving forward into my senior year at OSU and future career.  

I am so grateful for the opportunity to experience this summer with Extension and see all the different aspects of what goes into Extension and the impact it can make on adults and children. I hope everyone can experience OSU Extension in one way or another in their daily lives as it is such a great resource for everyone. There are so many programs with a reach so far, that there is something for everyone, not just those involved in agriculture.