Hello, my name is Abigail Cape, and I am in towards the end of my internship for this
year with Polk County 4-H. Throughout this summer, I have had so many amazing experiences
and opportunities within Polk County 4-H. Some of my favorites were helping with the Jr. Master
Gardeners Camp, working with the West Salem Dream Center and finally being able to help
with both county and state fair. Fair itself has always been a favorite of mine; as a youth to show
at, and now as an intern being able to help with all of the behind the scenes work before, during,
and after fair is something that I truly enjoy. During our county fair this year, I had the
opportunity to run the small animal judging contest, which typically consists of knowledge, breed
ID and finally a couple of animals for the kids to judge; however, due to number of animals
required for a class, the judging portion of the contest was omitted causing the contest to be
more of a knowledge contest. Youth were able to choose from four different tests, two were
about rabbits and cavies (guinea pigs), with the other two being about various kinds of poultry.
During the state fair, I was able to clerk for the horticulture exhibits for the 4-H for the second
time, as well as work in the 4-H building at the state fair.

Throughout my time this summer working with Extension, I have been able to learn so
much. With our county growing and more kids being interested in more things, helping the 4-H
program I grew up with grow and adapt to meet the needs of all the new members makes me so
happy. The skills I have learned during this internship will help me in my future years at school,
but also in my future career. As this summer and this internship unfortunately come to a close,
I’m reminded of all that I have learned through this program. I am truly grateful for everything
that I have experienced and everyone I have met in this internship this summer.