Hi everyone!

My name is Madeline Breiling, and this is my third year as a SNAP-Ed intern in Umatilla County. I
just finished my third year at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, where I study
mathematics, astronomy and data science. I am very excited to be back in my hometown of
Pendleton, working with the OSU Extension office to serve the community.

I am now in my eighth week of my internship. So far, I have had the opportunity to work on a
wide variety of projects. I have been assisting with a workout class called Strong People
designed for older adults in Pendleton. This class is very different from the rest of the work I
have done in previous years of this internship because the class is exercise-based rather than
food-based, like many of our other classes. I really enjoyed helping with the class and seeing
that SNAP-Ed isn’t just about food and nutrition. In my previous years of the internship, I have
mainly worked with the elementary school age group, so I have been excited to interact with
and serve the older adults in my community.

I have also been able to help with our new Kids in the Kitchen class with middle schoolers in
Athena. This is my first time helping with a longer-term class with the middle school age group,
and it has been a lot of fun to see their cooking skills develop each week. We try to allow them
to make as many of their own choices in the recipe as possible. This is fun because it allows
them to begin to learn how to actually cook rather than just learning how to follow recipes.
I have also had the opportunity to continue projects from the previous years of my internship,
including handing out free food samples and recipes at the Pendleton and Milton Freewater
farmers markets, and helping to teach nutrition and cooking classes to kindergarteners at the
Hermiston summer schools.

As the summer progresses, I am very excited to continue with all of these projects and start
some new ones.