Amy Baker « OSU Extension Internship Program

A woman holding a microphone gestures at a wheelbarrow carrying tools. — Ashley Armstrong presenting the Champion Herdsmanship award.
Photo credit: Kayla Sheets

Hello again from Josephine County 4-H! This is Ashley Armstrong, finishing up my final week here as an intern. This summer has been amazing, and I have learned so very much, through talking with my supervisor, Lisa Parlette, 4-H outreach program coordinator; talking to our youth members and adult volunteers and getting to plan and put on events during the Josephine County Fair.

Though this year’s fair looked different for 4-H, it didn’t stop us from having a great time. In the weeks leading up to fair there was a lot of work put into updating our static displays, and it certainly paid off in the end. So much time was put into creating new banners, new display boards and other décor so that all of our youth were given opportunity to see their project shine. We even broke out our Clover mascot costume to invite people into our static display room.

A four leaf clover mascot poses in front of a fair exhibit. — Clover at the Josephine County Fair 4-H Static Exhibit.
Photo credit: Kayla Sheets

During my time in 4-H I showed both dairy goats and poultry, and one of my goals was to one day make it to master showmanship. Our round-robin competition looked different this year than it had in the past, but I think some of the changes that had to be made were for the better. Normally in a round-robin competition we would have different animals – cavies, dairy goats, dogs, horses, meat goats, poultry, sheep, steer and swine – shown by the grand champion showman for each animal.

A woman with a microphone reads from a paper while another stands nearby holding green ribbons. — Ashley Armstrong and Lisa Parlette presenting Master Showmanship awards.
Photo Credit: Brooke Armstrong

This year we had no steer or horse projects, so instead of shortening our round-robin, we chose a random reserve grand champion from large and small animal to be our wild card contestants. This meant that as we rotated through, there would be a period where the participants would be showing the same animal twice, so instead we turned those spots into water breaks. Having planned this show and executed it with the help of our animal superintendents, I was so happy when things went smoothly.

I think the best part was at the end while scores were being tallied, the 10 kids we had waiting in the ring for the announcement were happy, joking with each other and hugging. The joy they showed when their fellow 4-H’er was placed was indescribable, and I think my ears are still recovering from the happy yelling when I announced our master showman.

This internship has taught me so much and has only solidified my plans to work in Extension and 4-H when I graduate in June. Though there are times where I am incredibly tired from the work done through the day, I wouldn’t trade the work I have done this summer for anything.

A young man inspects a fruit tree in an orchard. — Kieran King at a peach-plum orchard, assessing the health of the fruit trees on the owner’s property.
Photo credit: Hayley White

The summer has gone by so fast, but I’ve learned so much throughout this season! I’m now in my last weeks of my Oregon State University Extension Service Small Farms Program internship, and what a great experience it has been. I’ve been able to help with a wide array of projects, ranging from public outreach via social media to data collection in agricultural trials.

The biggest project that I’ve worked on was my activity for the Polk County Fair. I had to figure out how to make an activity that was engaging for kids and related to agriculture. I settled on making my activity about beneficial arthropods (insects, spiders, etc.), since that was something that I would have been interested in when I was young. I designed trivia cards for kids to read and set up an area for them to draw. This turned out to be an effective outreach strategy as parents would have to wait for their kids to do the activity and ended up taking some of our outreach materials. While I definitely learned a lot about how to perform effective outreach from this project, I ended up learning a lot more about insect anatomy than I ever thought I would.

The hand of the photographer reaches out to a dog who sniffs it. — Greeted by a dog at a research donor’s property during a site visit. Photo credit: Kieran King

One of my favorite things that I’ve gotten to help with is the Olea project. I’ve had the opportunity to go to North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora and collect data on OSU’s 400-plus olive trees , assessing fruit set and collecting leaves for tissue samples. In the process, I’ve been able to meet many interesting people, including donors and active researchers. NWREC is also just a beautiful place to be on a sunny summer day!

Over the course of my internship, I’ve come to have a greater appreciation for everything that goes into public outreach. Everything from social media posts and email campaigns to manning and preparing a fair booth takes so much time and effort that isn’t usually seen from an outside perspective. Many of these things take hours to prepare and design, but people engaging with them may only see them for a few seconds at a time. Even so, the unseen work that goes into outreach is worth it, because we are able to bring OSU Extension’s amazing services to people in need of advice and assistance.

I’m very grateful for all that I’ve learned over the summer. I learned how to confidently communicate and bond with people in a professional environment, which are skills that I wanted to work on going into my internship. I’ve also learned a lot of practical information and skills, from noxious weed identification to the use of website building programs. I’ve learned things that I never expected to. Even though I might not use all of them in my future career, I feel like a much more well-rounded person because of these learning experiences with OSU Extension.

Finally, I’d like to thank my supervisor Hayley White for making my internship such a positive experience. Her guidance and compassion helped me stay on course throughout the internship, and she always affirmed the value of the work I did. I couldn’t have asked for a better boss at my first job!

– Kieran King

A woman stands near flowers in vases and writes on a clipboard. — Amber Stewart helping clerk in the flower category at the Polk County Fair.
Photo credit: Rachel Brandon

Hello! My name is Amber Stewart and I am an Oregon State University Extension Service intern in Polk County. I am currently attending Chemeketa Community College to pursue my career goal of becoming a nurse. This is my second blog post.

I got to help at Polk County’s Fair in early August. It was a busy but successful week filled with lots of good experiences with many opportunities to grow. Starting off fair week, I assisted with clerking in the 4-H art category. It was fun to see all the exhibits youth in Polk County entered. The following days I was at the front desk of the 4-H building to fulfill any responsibilities needed, some of which included directing our teen staff, setting up for 4-H events during fair and answering any questions that the public had about our 4-H fair or the 4-H program.

A woman arranges a large display of plants on tables. — Amber Stewart setting up the horticulture exhibit at the Oregon State Fair.
Photo credit: Rachel Brandon

At the Oregon State Fair I assisted with horticulture. I helped the judge and clerk specifically in the flower category. I also got to help set up the horticulture exhibit section. I enjoyed the information I learned about horticulture from the judge while I was a part of this section of the state fair. This was such a good experience to expand my knowledge about horticulture. It was great to be able to be more involved with the process of the state fair.

As the end of my internship program draws near, I have been able to be a part of so much with planning learning day camps, 4-H Polk County Fair and Oregon State Fair. I am so thankful for all the opportunities I have gotten to experience and the skills I got to expand, including the new ones I have learned.

A young woman smiles as she holds a food blender attached to the handlebars of a bicycle pedaled by a child. — Helping power the blender bike at the Hermiston Public library.
Photo credit: Carolina Muniz

Hi, my name is Karsynn Olivas. Now that my summer internship is ending, I am confident going into the new school year that nutrition is a career path I want to pursue. I have learned so much working with the Oregon State University Extension program and Snap Ed that I can apply to my future. My most valuable takeaway from my summer working for this program is how to bring awareness to nutrition throughout a community. Before working here, I was always hesitant to talk about nutrition with others. Now I recognize the importance of spreading awareness about healthy habits and easy recipes. Seeing not only kids but adults getting excited to learn about nutrition brought me so much fulfillment

Not only did I learn to teach about nutrition, but I also learned so much from my partner Carolina Muniz and my supervisor Maria Ximena Williams. They both have been such amazing resources to help guide me throughout this internship. I am so grateful to have met them and been able to work with them. The connections with others I have made throughout this summer internship are ones I hope to keep.

The project I worked on this summer was dedicated to food tastings at the Hermiston summer meal sites. I attended different parks and schools to allow kids and their families to taste a new recipe I made from the Food Hero website. This was a huge success. The kids were all excited to try something new, and at the same time, it helped to promote Food Hero throughout the community.

Overall, I am extremely appreciative to have worked for The OSU Extension program and Snap Ed. This summer is one I will never forget.

Two women poke their heads through a cutout of a flower and a pig. — Leah Lowe (upper left), Wasco County 4-H Program Coordinator, and Brandi Vance.
Photo credit: Susan Coleman

Hello, this is Brandi Vance, OSU Extension intern in Wasco County. The second half of my internship was filled with preparations for fair time. What does this mean you might ask? Lots of caffeine and long days. This happened to be my favorite time, organizing all the awards, making sure our barn superintendents had what they needed as well as making sure the kids were entered correctly for their fair classes. This may sound like a lot, but I had the best team that I was assisting. My supervisor, Leah Lowe, Wasco County’s 4-H program coordinator, made sure I knew exactly where to go and what to do all while handling all her duties.

Finally, we got to fair week. The best and maybe most crazy time of year. We moved all our office supplies we would need for the week to the fairgrounds (which is actually 45 minutes away from our normal office) and proceeded to organize. Next, we had horse fair which is actually held a few days before the main fair takes place. We had a great judge who taught the kids so much during their shows. We managed to do everything from showmanship to western games all in one day. Then we ended the night with a skill-a-thon I designed and awards as well as a Mongolian barbeque one of the leaders made. After a small break, we checked in all our static exhibits. We had kids coming in all day with artwork, photography, even some sewing and cooking. We had a great turn out this year!

A long row of 4-H champion belt buckles. — Wasco County 2023 Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion Belt Buckles.
Photo credit: Brandi Vance

The next day it was time to get everyone settled into the fairgrounds – as settled as you can get in 106-degree weather – and have an exhibitor meeting. Every 4-H’er and leader/volunteer got a shirt, and the kids even got a bucket for the fair thanks to many great sponsors. We played minute-to-win-it games that featured one kid with a bag covered in shaving cream on their head while the other partner threw peanuts to try and get them to stick. The team with the most peanuts stuck wins. We played games at each of our night meetings to give the kids and volunteers a chance to relax after a long day of fair festivities. Not to mention the swag that the kids with good sportsmanship got each evening. The following days were filled with early mornings, market classes and even showmanship classes. The kids did absolutely phenomenal and won lots of awards and made so many improvements.

Then it happened, my last day. I ended up getting a thank you card from a member of one of our local clubs. I had so much fun and learned more than I imagined I would during the duration of my internship in Wasco County. The kids, the Extension staff, the parents/volunteers/leaders made it the best experience and I am missing it already. I already have plans to go help at fair next year!

A woman kneels in the grass to feed a black and white baby goat with a bottle. — Sophia Nowers feeding a two-day old baby goat on a recent farm tour. Photo credit: Teagan Moran

Hello, again. I’m Sophia Nowers, the summer intern for Oregon State University Extension Service’s Small Farms Program and Community Horticulture in Benton, Linn and Lane counties. It is hard to believe that I’m already in the last week of my internship. The past month has sped by in a blur of events and activities. I have tabled at the Benton County Fair, helped on Small Farms farm tours, gone to OSU field days, and worked with Master Gardeners to publicize some of their events and talks. Between writing up summaries of events for sharing on social media and in Extension publications, I have also been working on an article about the OSU Dry Farm Project and its community involvement through the Dry Farming Collaborative.

It has been fantastic to explore Extension this summer, especially as an OSU student in the College of Agricultural Sciences. I have had the opportunity to make so many connections with professors, researchers, and members of the community and it has given me a strong sense of what I might want to do in the future.

There have been so many highlights, from getting to bottle feed a two-day old baby goat to attending the Organic Grains & Pulses Field Day and several Master Gardener events. My favorite part of my internship was learning how Extension bridges the gap between communities and the university, connecting researchers with farmers and business owners, community members with resources about gardening and homeownership and farmers with each other. I am grateful for the opportunity to help publicize Small Farms Program and Community Horticulture’s events and activities.

The project that I am proudest of is my article about the OSU Dry Farm Project. For the article, I interviewed the lead researchers of the project, Lucas Nebert and Matt Davis, visited two of their dry farm sites, and in the process learned a lot about dry farming and its challenges in Oregon.

I am grateful to my supervisors, Teagan Moran and Brooke Edmunds, for their support and guidance this summer, and to everyone I met through this internship. I have greatly enjoyed exploring some of what Extension has to offer and realizing that there is so much more!

A man stands near a bucket in a field, holding a tube for collecting soil samples. — Extension Intern Keon Kiser collects soil samples at the OSU Extension Moro Station.
Photo credit: Jacob Powell

Hello readers of my second and final blog post of the summer of 2023! My name is Keon Kiser and I am a third-year OSU student studying environmental engineering. During my academic endeavors I have had the great privilege of working for the Wasco County OSU Extension office the past two summers. This blog post is a good opportunity to share my experiences with OSU Extension.

This past summer I’ve worked heavily with my supervisor, Lu Seapy, coworkers Bob M. and Susan M., and a fellow OSU intern, Theo Sandoz, on 4-H STEM summer camps. We worked together on organizing a variety of camps for youth that include hiking camps along the Columbia River, VEX robotics camps, Protobots, Drones and a Makey-Makey camp. In these camps we taught basic coding languages, physics of simple circuits, local biology, notebooking, and soldering skills. The variety of technical skills taught at these camps were a good application of skills I have learned in the past. But it was also a good learning experience, because I had to reach a certain level of mastery in order to teach each skill. For example, I have previous experience programming robots and creating engineering notebooks, but I had to practice my soldering skills as I had not soldered too much in the past. I had to constantly read up on local biology in order to teach the subject during the hiking camps. Also, I was given the task to independently lead a series of VEX Robotics and hiking camps. At the VEX camps I introduced the upcoming competition and focused on having the youth practice strategy, documentation, robot design and robot building. Then, at the series of 4-H hikes, I managed a group of youth and an assistant from The Dalles Parks and Recreation office. I contacted families and instructed campers in local biology.

Seven young people stand on a plateau with a river below and behind them. — Blejan, Evan, Christopher, Keon Kiser, Caleb, Nolan and Porter on a 4-H hike along the Rowena Plateau overlooking the Columbia River.
Photo credit: Stacey Ihrig

Aside from the 4-H STEM summer camps, I was able to work with Jacob Powell, a Sherman and Wasco County extension agent, on his wheat-crop research projects. The overall idea of the project was to study grain sizes and soil micronutrients like nitrogen and phosphate across various combinations of nitrogen levels and fertilizers to see if there were any significant differences in yield. During this time, I witnessed the importance of accounting for any possible variable that could affect the results. For example, Jacob and I did not see any real obvious differences in grain sizes across most of the treatments, which could imply that none of the treatments would be any better than another tested treatment. However, we had to take into account the weather, as it did not rain a lot over the summer. The crops probably did not have enough moisture to carry the nutrients up the wheat stocks. This was a great lesson for me as I intend to participate in a bioremediation research project back at OSU. Additionally, I was happy to see the information and results gathered and presented from the fire break trials I helped Jacob with the previous summer.

Overall, OSU Extension has provided me ample opportunity to hone technical skills (like soldering), to become a better team leader and teacher, and to experience contributing, in one way or another, in scientific research. I have had so much fun working with the youth and watching them learn and grow many new skills throughout the summer, and from year to year. Additionally, the staff at Wasco County are great people who truly live the OSU Extension mission of serving the community. Their friendliness made working fun and their focus challenged me to put forth my best effort. I would rate this experience as two thumbs up and a smiley ball 🙂. Thank you!

A woman stands in front of a brightly painted bulletin board and gives the thumbs up gesture. — Johanna Simonson, 4-H summer intern, in front of her finished bulletin boards.
Photo credit: Kelly Simonson

Wow, this summer has gone by fast! I feel like I shouldn’t even be writing my final blog post, but given there is only two weeks left of my internship, it makes sense.

This summer has been such an eye-opening experience. I experienced multiple facets of Extension. Right after I wrote my last blog post, I taught at a Cloverbud Day Camp at Extension’s Discovery Garden. That was enjoyable for me as well as the kids and quite a coincidence considering I was just telling my family how much I missed the kids at the daycare I worked at during school!

My next adventure was in Snap-Ed. That day I drove with a co-worker to Canyonville to set up a booth with samples of Couscous Salad and recipes to hand out at the farmer’s market. The majority of people trying out the sample loved it! A lot of people came back for more, and almost all the recipes we printed out were gone! It was a huge success. Not only that, but I got to learn more about my co-worker. Even though we were different ages, we still had many things in common, which was a delightful surprise.

Another experience I had was a “Mud and Manure” event. This may not sound like a lot of fun to some people and probably slightly disturbing. However, it was actually very educational, and I loved driving out to the farms to see some soil conservation designs around high-traffic livestock areas. I was impressed that the designs have lasted almost a decade, too. Through this event I got an idea of how I would like my job to look in the future. After the event, it wasn’t really planned to go on a farm call, but I am grateful that we did because it really helped me understand the fuller extent of what being a livestock and forage agent for Extension looks like.

A woman in a pink top stands at a table and makes candles with two kids in white shirts — Johanna Simonson making candles with 4-H.
Photo credit: Kelly Simonson

After this it was time to prepare for the fair. The main events I took charge of were line dancing, candle making, and the bulletin boards in the fairgrounds’ exhibit building. After hours of planning, preparation and creation, everything was finished.

At least 30 people attended the line dancing event. Everybody learned three new dances, which is a lot considering temperatures reached 90 degrees! The candle making event went so well that we ran out of soy wax after making around 25 candles. Even though the paper to decorate the bulletin boards came late, I improvised and painted them instead. Honestly, I am glad I did because they look WAY better than paper décor would. People actually liked the bulletin boards so much they took pictures in front of them. I am very pleased with my events at the fair, even if there were some things that needed to be improved.

Overall, I would say that this internship has been a great experience. I learned more about myself, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and I strengthened my self-discipline muscle. This internship has shown me that I am stronger than I thought I was in multiple areas of my life, and I am fearful to think of where I would be without having participated in this internship. I am extremely thankful to everyone who made it happen. So long, until next time!

May y’all be blessed,
Johanna Simonson

Grace Ogden giving her closing presentation at the Morrow County Board of Commissioners meeting on August 2, 2023.
Photo credit: Julie Baker

Hello again! My name is Grace Ogden, and I am a student intern in Morrow County with the Oregon State University Extension Service. I am just about to begin my second year of school at Oklahoma State University, working towards a degree in animal science business. This summer I did a majority of my work preparing for county fair with OSU Extension 4-H in Morrow County. I have also gotten the opportunity to work with our crops specialist Larry Lutcher on a couple of projects of his this summer.

As my internship came to an end, I was able to reflect on my summer and see that I had so many opportunities and learned so much. I organized a group day-camp for our 4-H Cloverbuds and planned and facilitated lesson plans for our local daycare – teaching about the importance of seeds, and a lesson on soil horizons. I worked with judges, volunteers, donors, and families to prepare for the events of the Morrow County Fair and Livestock Auction, which also included helping plan, organize, and execute pre-fair contests.

I organized a potluck dinner for the annual South Morrow County Crop tour, updated and developed our webpage and social media platforms, created flyers, posts, and letters to send throughout our wide range of recipients and attended meetings serving as a representative for our office and county. I recently gave a presentation to the Morrow County Board of Commissioners recapping my summer with Oregon State Extension.

I worked with OSU Extension in this same office during my senior year of high school and loved the work I did so much. It was bittersweet to leave last June in order to work harvest before leaving for college, and even more bittersweet leaving the office for the second time this August due to school starting. I have been extremely lucky to have the opportunity to have Julie Baker and Larry not only as my supervisors and coworkers, but also as my friends. I have always had a passion for agriculture, specifically agricultural education, so I especially loved working in this position. I gained so much knowledge, experience, and relationships during my time in the county office, and I hope to be back very soon.

Three women pose for a selfie on the shore. — Yolanda Diaz, Kiera Briner (Chief Science Officer) and Barbara Brody (Associate professor of practice, FCH) attended the Chief Science Officer National Conference in Jacksonville, Florida.
Photo credit: Yolanda Diaz

My OSU Extension Internship experience has been life-changing, to say the least. It has been filled with professional development, mentorship and valuable work. My journey with Extension began as a Malheur Works intern during the first year of the program. The program strives to provide recent high school graduates with an opportunity for workforce development. MW Internship program also focuses on meeting local industry needs by fostering youth with professional skills to become equipped employees. The internship program also offers paid internships for students, enabling them to prepare for future employment or higher education.

After graduating high school, I was placed at OSU Extension Service. At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect from my internship, but I ended up loving it! Thankfully, I was offered an extended internship that started the following summer after my first year of college. My time with Extension has allowed me to grow professionally, and I was thrilled to return once again in the summer of 2023. I have now completed three summer internships with Extension.

A classroom full of young people stand around two tables. — Malheur Works interns and Yolanda Diaz (center).
Interns participated in an activity prepared by Yolanda at Professional Development Day.
Photo credit: Barbara Brody

I’m beyond grateful to say OSU Extension has provided me job security during my college career. I look forward to coming home each summer to continue meaningful work in the community. During my internships, I was able to enhance my leadership skills and take on additional roles and responsibilities each year. My overarching goal includes outreach and engagement with community partners to address needs in the community. Each summer, the needs we focus on has varied. The solutions and approaches that I’ve seen to resolve the issues Malheur County is facing have been creative and culturally sensitive. My education in social work has taught me the importance of meeting people where they are and practicing cultural empathy. I’m pleased that I have gained a broader perspective on the issues affecting my county and the effective measures taken to tackle them.

Two women work on computers at a table and smile for the camera. — Nickie Shira (Director of Frontier STEM Hub) and Yolanda Diaz, working on youth workforce development.
Photo credit: Barbara Brody

This summer, I had the chance to work with the Malheur Works Internship program. My role was to help develop additional activities and provide input during the professional development days to engage the interns and enhance their learning experience. Contributing to this program was personally meaningful to me, as I had benefited from it before, and I wanted others to have the same positive experience. Through my work with the MW program, I learned about the significance of providing workforce development opportunities in rural communities. I was pleased to hear about the positive impact the program had on each intern during the marketing and promotional events.

It’s bittersweet to realize that my time as an OSU Intern is coming to an end, as I never truly realized what a wonderful journey I had begun. Nevertheless, I’m certain that my involvement with Extension won’t come to an end after this year, as it has greatly influenced my career path. I’m grateful to my co-workers, colleagues, and supervisors who have provided me with a safe and enjoyable environment to develop my skills. Being surrounded by individuals who are passionate and supportive of the work we do every day is something that never goes unnoticed. Finally, I’d like to express my gratitude to OSU Extension Service for granting me an unforgettable opportunity. My passion for Extension continues to flourish as I work towards serving Malheur County every single day.

– Yolanda Diaz

OSU Extension Internship Program

Author Archives: Amy Baker

Internship solidified my plans to work for Extension after graduation

A more well-rounded person because of the learning experiences with OSU Extension

Thankful for all the opportunities and skills

Spreading awareness of healthy habits

Internship in Wasco County ends with a FAIR-well

Extension is a bridge from the OSU campus to communities

Living the OSU Extension mission of serving the community

Internship showed I was stronger than I thought

Internship ends with gains in knowledge, experience and relationships

What a wonderful journey

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