Chris Branam « OSU Extension Internship Program

Hi, my name is Nora Graham, and this is my last blog post for the summer. As my time interning at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center with OSU comes close to its conclusion, I thought I would share what a routine week looks like for me during my entomology internship.

I’m currently splitting my time between two researchers’ projects, and so on Mondays and Fridays I look for corn earworm larvae and eggs on hemp plants in Jackson County, as well as working towards my presentation and research paper I’ll be submitting for a separate OSU internship.

A person is standing in a field of tall hemp plants. — Nora Graham inspects hemp for corn earworm eggs.

On Tuesdays through Thursdays, I help with a wide variety of entomology tasks for pear and grape crops. Some of these weekly tasks include looking for treehoppers on grapevines that could potentially carry grapevine red blotch virus. We check coddling moth traps put up in pear orchards and count the number of male and female moths. We also collect and transfer earwigs from a peach orchard and put them in a pear orchard to see if they can act as a predator for pear psylla and two-spotted spider mites since they’re not able to do damage to pear crops.

It has been an incredible experience getting to work on so many diverse entomology projects. I had the opportunity to see how different orchards and vineyards operate, as well as getting to interact with a lot of knowledgeable people.

Hey there, my name is Molly Benjamin, and I am currently working with the OSU Extension SNAP-Ed program in the OSU Extension office in Eugene. I live here full-time, and I am close to receiving my bachelor’s degree in family and human services from the University of Oregon. I have always been passionate about working with people, but in the last two years I have found a niche that I quite love: cooking, food and nutritional education.

Growing up, cooking has always been close to my heart. My mom went to culinary school and she now runs a catering company, so I was often around to learn and help. Over the years, my interest in cooking has grown exponentially, and I am so thankful that she has gifted me an appreciation for fresh food and taught me just how nourishing it can be to make your own meals. I was much pickier than the kids I have been working with this summer, however. From the ages of 9-16 I turned my nose at things like raw onions, beets and tomatoes. I have been so pleasantly surprised to see how willing the kids have been to try new foods. I think that growing your appreciation for delicious, fresh veggies can open a whole new world of food and remove the negative connotations that children may have with vegetables in particular.

Vegetables in paper containers on a table. — Preparing fresh vegetables to make Farmers Market Salsa at the Bethel Farm Summer Camp.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP-Ed) has truly been a perfect opportunity to get real-world experience in teaching cooking lessons and the importance of eating a diverse and nutritious diet. So far, my fellow intern Ivan Gonzales and I have worked for a few weeks at the Bethel Farm Summer Camp, and I recently finished teaching at Riverbend Elementary School in Springfield. I loved the opportunity to teach knife skills, measuring techniques, and food etiquette because I believe they are lifetime skills. After working at the Bethel Farm Summer Camp, the leader Jessica told us that multiple parents had reported that their kids showed more interest in cooking and trying new foods. That alone was so gratifying to hear!

I loved working with Extension this summer, and I hope to find some good ideas for next year’s interns!

Ray Qin's agronomy research team. — Ray Qin’s agronomy research team.

Hi everyone!

This will be my last blog post as an OSU Extension intern. This summer has flown by and I’m happy to have spent my time at the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center (HAREC).

I feel that my experiences from my internship have helped me to better understand the research process by seeing the amount of time and preparation that goes into getting results. This summer I assisted with a lot of sample collections and testing preparation for various research trials. It was really cool to learn about the trials being performed at HAREC and how it will benefit the producers in the Columbia Basin area. I worked mostly in collecting potato petiole, wheat, and alfalfa samples every week then getting them ready to be sent off for further testing.

One thing that I would like others to know about OSU Extension is that it serves a wide variety of people in the agricultural industry. I grew up in 4-H so I really only thought that extension was limited to 4-H and youth education. Extension plays a huge role in communities in a wide range of ways. I think people should get information about their local Extension service to see what programs they offer in the community and how they can get involved as community members. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Extension this summer, especially at HAREC.

During this summer I learned the value of relationships and staying in touch with those you work with. The value of human connection is one that cannot be matched through virtual communication and meetings alone. I know this will aid me in the future as I pursue a career in agricultural education. The experiences and relationships I’ve gained from this internship are ones that I’ll forever be thankful for.

Hello! My name is Joseph O’Brien, and I am from Boardman, Oregon. I am currently co-attending the Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing and Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon, for the class of 2023. I am on track to earn two bachelor’s degrees, in nursing and in science in health and human performance with a concentration in exercise science.

Joseph O'Brien holds tophy

Growing up, I was very involved in the youth organization 4-H. I raised and showed an abundance of livestock animals, participated in many projects (shooting sports, junior and teen leadership, etc.), held leadership roles within my club and county (club president, Morrow County ambassador, etc.), volunteered at community service events within the surrounding communities of my hometown, and much more. Sometime in the future, I would like to become a 4-H project leader and volunteer with the youth in the community I reside in.

Once I graduate with both of my undergraduate degrees and obtain my nursing license, I would like to travel to different American Indian/Alaskan Native tribal clinics within Oregon to help serve underrepresented communities. Additionally, I would like to obtain my wound care certification and relocate to eastern Oregon or Washington to work in a wound clinic.

I was one of the inaugural participants in the OSU Extension Service student internship in 2020, and I’ve returned this summer to the OSU Extension Service office in Umatilla County. As I enter this internship for the second time, I am very appreciative for my experience last year. Last year, many people had to adapt to working virtually – me included. The hardest challenge was not having the ability to connect with as many community members as I would have liked. With that said, I would not have changed the experiences and opportunities presented throughout last summer.

During our orientation this year, the other county interns and I were given a presentation about the four “Ps” within the Extension Service: People, Places, Programs, and Partnerships. In relation, my work this summer will be focused on collaborating with the Extension Open Campus/Juntos and 4-H programs.

I am very excited to connect with youth in Morrow and Umatilla counties, teach new or enhance educational content taught within the school districts, and conduct team-building activities that are fun and engaging! I will also help with the Umatilla and Morrow county fairs; assisting judges and show clerks at the livestock rings, setting up 4-H program educational booths and displays, and much more.

One of my biggest personal goals for this summer is to meet new people and listen to their stories, find hidden places within my community where learning and teaching can be taught or further enhanced, collaborate with other programs within the Extension Service, Morrow County, and Umatilla County to provide the best experiences for youth during workshops and camps, and find value/recognize the old, current, and new personal or county-wide partnerships throughout this internship experience.

Remember to stay safe and well!

Adrian Gallo, a graduate student at OSU, recently completed an internship in the Extension Communications office.

Oregon State University Extension programs reach into Oregon’s communities and help people of all ages, even if they don’t recognize it. Now approaching the end of my program, I’ve written about nutritional programs for underserved communities near metro areas and a new soilborne wheat virus affecting farmers in the sparsely populated drylands of eastern Oregon. No matter your geographic location, we are all connected, and Extension helps us to remember that fact.

Helping communities is at the center of Extension work, and it’s exemplified in our Master Naturalist programs. These programs help to educate Oregonians about the natural world around them, through field tours and site visits. This program encourages participants to contribute to community science efforts as well as promoting volunteer hours in the community where they did their field program – even if it isn’t their own place of residence.

One of the Master Naturalist programs often enrolls Portland-area residents for a course in the Klamath-Siskiyou mountains. After the weekend field tour, they continued returning to the area for recreation and volunteering. In the process of learning more about their state, they were also contributing to the southwestern Oregon economy. This increase in tourism and ecological awareness from others around the state may help keep smaller communities more stable in the long run.

In addition to connecting disparate communities that otherwise may not interact, Extension also supports the individual needs of tight-knit communities. For example, I wrote about one 4-H program specifically aims to teach Latinx children the importance of healthy eating as they are more likely to have issues with food security. Another 4-H initiative I wrote about helped save a middle school cross-country program from going defunct allowing more home-schoolers to also join. I also wrote about an even more ambitious endeavor by Extension faculty to work alongside Indigenous communities to make higher education more accessible to their citizens.

As a student, it’s easy to get wrapped up in Corvallis culture. As a research scientist, it’s all too common to try and keep the blinders on to other distractions in the world. After all, we only have so much time in the day. But even with my short time in Extension Communications, I’m learning about all the positive impacts Extension has throughout the state – impacts that wouldn’t be possible without leveraging the institutional and academic power of OSU. So, as an Oregon resident, I’m grateful to know Extension is constantly trying to make positive impact, and we should continue advocating on its behalf.

Anita McNally recently completed an internship in the OSU Extension office in Lincoln County.

Hello again! As my time here at Lincoln County Extension is coming to a close, I’ve realized how much I have learned from this experience and am grateful to have this internship opportunity. During my time being here I have learned numerous skills and have observed what a career at OSU Extension looks like.

Working on my assignments, I’ve built professional confidence in conducting interviews, experience in writing and creating brochures, as well as a deeper understanding of Extension’s purpose and goals. I really enjoyed working with my supervisors and team. They were very helpful, positive and supportive. My supervisors allowed me to sit in on Zoom calls which allowed me to participate in thinking outside of the box and provide input, as well as observe how everyone communicates and works together on a common goal.

I’ve helped communicate and develop information for our Eat Oregon Seafood website that we’re trying to enhance and I have updated our social media pages which support local seafood businesses and at home seafood recipes to try. I’ve learned the importance of supporting local and sustainable farmers as well as how much of an importance they are for our community, culture, and environment.

COVID-19 brought its challenges with this internship, and I would have loved to have more work days in the office or in Lincoln County. Due to these challenges it also limited the work that I could do, therefore if I was able to be in the office I may have had more assignments and in-the-field experience, as well as better connections with other coworkers and community members that I would have met in the office and field. I am glad I had the chance to go visit some local venders and the office at least once during my internship.

As my internship progressed, I was able to make connections between Extension and my environmental science major at OSU. Within this last week I was able to help call local farmers for an Agriculture Climate Adaption survey to understand what changes they have seen on their farm and how the county can help. I’ve also been taking a beginners’ short course for Introduction to Urban Agriculture, which has helped me broaden my understanding between the environment, community, and culture, and also connect this class to what I’ve been doing for Extension by helping support local foods and farmers. I really enjoyed my experience as an Extension intern and have learned a lot about Lincoln county and its community.

Joseph O’Brien recently completed an internship in the OSU Extension office in Umatilla County.

I would like to start by saying I’m very grateful and appreciative to have had the opportunity to work as a student intern through the OSU Umatilla County Extension Service. Throughout these past 10 weeks, I’ve worked on countless projects, interacted with community members, and grown personally.

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, this internship has proved me wrong again and again. For instance, obtaining knowledge about the programs, resources, and workshops offered to everyone in the nearby communities of Umatilla and Morrow counties.

Toward the beginning of this internship, I was encouraged to create two personal objectives. Here is what I came up with: Grow within a professional work environment/improve my work ethic skills, and provide educational content about community health to young adults and youth in nearby communities.

One way I’ve incorporated these objectives into this experience is through the STEM Saturday experiments for kids that my fellow intern Ruben and I have been working on throughout this entire internship. An example would include a water tension experiment. I explained that when you dip dish soap into pepper-covered water, the water tension is disturbed. Therefore, the pepper is pushed to the edges of the plate. One way I related this to my community health objective is washing your hands. This allowed the kids to imagine that the pepper is dirt, bacteria, or any other bacterium/infective agent and explaining how important it is to wash your hands under warm water with soap for at least 20 seconds. I felt this was especially important to include considering the global COVID-19 pandemic.

During this process, Ruben and I created “Take and Make” sheets and a lesson plan for these six different water-based experiments. This part of the project really incorporated both objectives I created by allowing us to provide knowledge, collaborate with each other and relay information to our supervisor, and educate others while still having fun!

On the occasion that I was asked what my internship entailed, I made sure to tell them about how I was able to connect with community members, help at workshops, take projects head on, grow professionally, and develop skills that are not offered many places. Additionally, I would like to encourage those who seek challenges, a variety of tasks, and who want to learn more about the community they reside in to research this internship opportunity.

None of this would have been possible without my amazing supervisor, Anna Browne or fellow intern and friend Ruben Lopez. When I look back at this internship experience and my involvement with the OSU Extension Service here in Umatilla county, I would not change anything.

Stay safe everyone and remember to practice social distancing and wear your mask!

Ruben Lopez-Carillo is an intern in the OSU Extension office in Umatilla County.

My favorite part about the internship so far has been working at the local Nuts Bolts and Thingamajigs Camp for youth – NBTC for short. This camp was dedicated to preparing and motivating Umatilla County kids to understand the different paths they can take in getting their education. One of the main activities I took lead in this camp was team building games with the students.

When I came into this internship I was looking forward to the community-based aspect of OSU Extension and this camp helped fulfill this value.

The COVID-19 pandemic had made it tough for OSU Extension to meet all aspects of the its mission to serve Oregonians. We have been able to work around some obstacles and accomplish the mission effectively. One example is a project we have been working throughout this pandemic called 4-H STEM Saturday – an in-home activity for youth to keep learning.

The biggest learning opportunity I’ve had throughout this internship has been growth in my ability to adapt to challenging situations. Similar to everyone else in the world, the biggest challenge has been working through the conditions with COVID-19. It has really been testing our adaptability and patience to accomplish our tasks. I’ve gone through many changes in the past that required me to become adaptable and this here feels like the greatest challenge of all. After this experience I feel that I will be well prepared for any future challenges.

Carrie Harris recently completed an internship in the OSU Extension office in Coos County.

A final hello from Coos County!

Working for the OSU Extension office this summer in Coos County presented many challenges that I was happy to take-on. I began the summer assisting my supervisor, Elissa Wells, and the Coos Youth Auction Committee in putting together a virtual and in-person livestock auction. I was able to learn a lot about the work that goes into the youth livestock auctions throughout the state, and the state guidelines that would have to be followed for COVID-19 regulations. I put together a slideshow of the youth and their projects to display during the auction, as well as called bids during the auction.

Then I was able to learn a lot more about the static exhibits that are included in 4-H, while helping check them in and returning them to the youth after their judging was completed. These are exhibits that include photography and drawing, and arts and crafts. I also learned more about the clerical side of 4-H activities while helping package the ribbons to send out to the youth for their virtual livestock judging and fair entries.

I ended my internship by putting together a few contests that could be done virtually for 4-H clubs. I put together a livestock breeds identification contest, which included large and small animal species. I created separate documents for juniors, intermediates, and seniors, with the difficulty increasing respectively. I also put together an equipment identification contest which included basic tools that are used to care for livestock. I was excited to be able to put something together for 4-H youth to do virtually this upcoming year.

I would like others to know that the OSU Extension goes above and beyond to help 4-H youth and the community around them. This summer I saw the OSU Extension office be as flexible as possible with 4-H youth, as well as others helping 4-H to make things possible during difficult times. The Extension office is a great learning resource for youth in the community, and not only those in 4-H. I appreciated the opportunity to work with OSU Extension, and to learn more about it, as well as learning about new ways to help the community I live in.

Anita McNally is an intern in the OSU Extension office in Lincoln County.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to physically work in the Lincoln County office this summer due to the pandemic. However, I was able to shadow my supervisor, Pami, for a day. This gave me the opportunity to see the office as well as work in my own office space for a few hours.

The Newport docks.

We went to the Newport docks where I was able to see fresh seafood be purchased off the boat. This experience gave me a sense of what I would be doing if I worked in Newport this summer. At the docks, I would have been leading Oregon Sea Grant Extension Shop at the Dock tours, which show the public how to buy seafood from a vendor and which questions to ask the about their catch. I’ve never bought fish or seafood directly off the boat, so this was a new experience for me that I found unique.

Then we went to visit Gibson Farms in nearby Siletz, which sells grass-fed beef and blueberries. This was an eye-opening experience because I saw how close Pami was to the owner. They discussed how they were doing on the farm, what their process was, and some of the things that were happening around them. Seeing how open the farmer was to Pami, showed me that Pami’s work – helping support local farmers with things they need and staying in contact with them – made a close and professional relationship between them and built a trusting and respectful bond between them. We then participated in Gibson Farms’ U-Pick blueberries for a couple of hours until our bins were full.

Anita McNally at the Gibson Farm in Siletz.

I really enjoyed having this experience of getting to know Pami better as well as seeing what she does in the field. It allowed me to see what I could potentially be doing and the connections I would be making if I got a chance to continue with Extension.

I really enjoyed my experience visiting local farmers and seafood vendors and wish I could do it more. Working from home, I’ve been advertising the Eat Oregon Seafood website on our social media accounts and I’ve conducted interviews with Master Gardener volunteers for our blog posts on Facebook. I also had the opportunity to write a report on the benefits of local foods, which brought to light the reasons why we should support local food, the economy, and our environment.

OSU Extension Internship Program

Author Archives: Chris Branam

Incredible experience working on diverse entomology projects

Passing on my appreciation for fresh and nutritional food through SNAP-Ed

Internship helped me better understand the research process

Looking forward to 2021 Extension internship

Discovering – and covering – the wide reach of Extension

This internship helped build my professional confidence

Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything

Adapting to challenging situations

I learned how to help my community

Walking the docks and picking blueberries

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