Hey there!
My name is Zach Richards, and I am currently a college student majoring in mechanical engineering. Recently, I finished my freshman year, and I am now looking forward to the next. I work for the Marion County OSU Extension office, the same county that I grew up in my whole life. In the past, I have gone to a couple of Extension related programs/activities such as the county fair and outdoor camps. I’ve also worked with my local OSU Extension office to help organize a food drive that benefited local elementary school students. This summer, I get to take my experiences one step farther as the county intern.
Over the course of my internship, there are a number of skills that I look forward to developing. First, this internship will be a great environment to learn how to organize and lead workshops/events. A lot of what I know about 4-H stems from activities such as these, so it will be great to be on the organizational side helping out. I also look forward to developing my ability to communicate with my coworkers and stay on top of what needs to get done. Working with other offices outside of my county will definitely give me the chance to practice this skill. Additionally, I am looking forward to the fair and the completion of the “MakerSpace” set up (a creative space for artistic creation)! Both the fair and the MakerSpace will help showcase creativity and will be fun to be a part of.
Over my time here, I plan to help get the MakerSpace to a point where people can come in and use the machines. I think it would be awesome if kids could come and learn design concepts as well as express their creativity through projects. I know that as a kid I would have loved trying out a few of the devices and learning how to use them. In the future, I hope to take a career path related to engineering and design. I think that aerospace seems cool, but I have also given some thought to mechatronics. Through my experience here, I believe that I will be able to give others a chance to explore similar interests as well as develop my own.