What a summer. With my internship at Lane County 4-H beginning to wrap, reflecting upon my experience these past eight weeks has been insightful. If last year you had told me I would bespending my summer serving as a small animal judge at the Lane County Fair and setting off twodozen Alka-Seltzer volcanos I would have thought you were crazy.
Maya Casper (from left) with Lane County 4-H faculty Melinda Garcia and Elizabeth Gangwer.
This summer I made Tofu smoothies with second-graders, learned to run a fair management software, and became an expert on the Danish scoring system, which we use to judge livestock and static projects at the fair. While it might not sound like it, all of these unique experiences have contributed to a further understanding of what it takes to serve the needs and wants of the Eugene and surrounding Lane County communities.
This experience has provided clarification for my professional goals post-graduation, and hasprovided insight into the work environment in which I hope to pursue. Pushing myself outside ofmy comfort zone and working in this position, which I might not have previously considered,served as highly insightful for my professional development. If I would have stayed within mycomfort zone I would have not had the experience to meet families and kids where they are,understanding their needs and intentions in a way that’s impossible solely from a classroom.It has taught me a lot about flexibility, and adaptability and reiterated my respect for thesacrifices parents make for their children.
I want to thank everyone at OSU Extension for creating this opportunity and Lane County for hostingme this summer.
Hi, my name is Anahi (she/her/hers) and I am working for OSU Extension in Washington County this summer. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be heading back to college to start my sophomore year. I feel nostalgic for my time working with the team in the Washington County Extension Office, as time has flown by. Every event I attended provided me with new learning opportunities, from the work of our community leaders to the curiosity of the youth I mentored.
I could not have asked for a better team, one full of compassionate and dedicated individuals who work to have an impact on the people in the county. As I reflect on my final weeks, I can only acknowledge how fortunate I was to have the privilege of joining the team. As an Extension intern, I had the opportunity to be part of various community events. I was at free lunch sites throughout summer with a community organization, Operation H.O.P.E., to hand out science-activity bags. My days were filled with joy when I would softly hear “thank you” from every kid while they hurried to open up those bags.
Science activity bags ready for Operation H.O.P.E.
On the days I spent with the 4-H Youth Environmental Educators (YEE) I mostly sat back and observed their work to learn as much as I could from them, their maturity, and their commitment to their projects. I would like to give a special thank you to the YEEs! All 10 kids brought fun to everything we did and being there to assist their adventures was a privilege. To have been part of their impact at Blue Lake Regional Park in Fairview and their community garden is beyond rewarding. Their dedication is something I will always admire. I spent days at the park with them and supported their planning days, learning and being mesmerized by their passion for everything they did.
I also worked with Juntos, an Extension Open Campus program that quickly became incredibly significant to me. Juntos allowed me to share my experiences as a first-generation Latina student in a foreign country. I saw myself in every student I met, and I felt my family’s presence through every parent attending the meetings. Not only did I have the gift to share my story in order to inspire, but I did so alongside a hardworking leader and role model, my internship supervisor Ezequiel Lopez-Reyes. I can only hope that this summer is just the beginning of my time with Juntos.
Extension expanded my passion for serving the community. It has been an experience that taught me the importance of curiosity, how much knowledge you can be gifted with by serving others, and that the resources available to us can always be shared to uplift others. To OSU Extension, thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to read about my personal Extension internship experience.
Hi again. I hope everyone’s summer has been going great. I am here to give you an update on what I have been doing in the OSU Extension office in Umatilla County. These past few weeks have been full of activities and fun. I had my Camp Cloverbud and it went great! We had 20 kids show up and seven volunteers. All the kids enjoyed the five activities I planned out and the snacks. They painted on canvas, made bird houses, planted some herbs, tie-dyed socks, read the book “Right This Very Minute” and played a game. I loved being involved in this camp and planning the activities for the kids to do. It was great with no hiccups and everyone went home with a smile on their face.
Bobbie Ann Sharp at Camp Cloverbud.
For the upcoming Umatilla County Fair we are setting up the 4-H building to display each member’s project to the public. I have been helping plan out what we will do for our kids’ corner. This has been difficult trying to get responses from volunteers and have them plan the days to be at the corner to do an activity with kids who pass by. I have come up with a scavenger hunt that can be done by the kids as they are walking around looking at 4-H members’ projects.
We had the dog show that I helped with. I took photos and helped the judges set up the ring. It was great to see how much joy the judges got from watching the kids show and then the kids smile when they have completed their time in the ring. I am in the last two weeks of my internship but these two weeks are going to be crazy! We are doing the Fashion Revue this week and then next week is the county fair so there will be no shortage of something that needs to be done. Thank you for reading and wish me good luck for the weeks to come.
Video storytelling campers doing interviews at Sorosis Park in The Dalles.
Wasco County was created by the Oregon Territorial Legislature in 1854 and and at one time was the largest county in the United States –bigger than present-day Oregon. Today, it can still seem very old at times. Our fair structure has not changed in the time that I have been alive–until this year. One of the biggest tasks that I have gotten under this internship program is to redesign Wasco County Fair’s livestock judging contest and turn it into a Skill-A-Thon. The Extension office acquired a full set of educational posters and equipment from the Ohio State University Extension Service for each species at the Wasco County Fair. It has been my job to come up with a junior level knowledge test on all that material. We are starting at a junior level because there has not been a contest like this in Wasco County for at least 15 years and we do not want to overwhelm our 4-H and FFA kids.
This was a much larger undertaking than I originally anticipated it being. I have spent six days working on the contest already and I will need a few more still to see it through to completion. One of the greatest obstacles for this project is that there are species of animals that I know almost nothing about. I raise beef and swine at home, so those project areas come fairly easily, but I have had to learn more about sheep, goats, rabbits, cavy and poultry in the last week than I have in the last nine years of 4-H. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will be able to participate in the Skill-A-Thon as I would have an unfair advantage being the one that made it, but I hope that it makes kids realize that there is always more to learn about their animals.
One reason that the Skill-A-Thon curriculum has taken so long to make was that our Video Storytelling Camp was held last week. We gave our nine kids cameras and a computer with video editing software and we guided them through how to properly record, edit and render videos. Each of the videos were entirely unique and had the creative genius of each kid behind them. They may not have been movie quality, but for some of the fourth-graders it was their first time using a computer with a mouse. They went from learning something totally new to having a fully produced video within three days. It was immensely rewarding to see the satisfaction on the kids’ faces as we played each of their videos at the end of the camp.
Wasco County Fair is closing in, with only two weeks to go. We are getting prepared to move the Extension office out to the fairgrounds for when fair begins. Even though I am still a 4-H member it will be a lot different this year as I will be more involved in operating fair as an intern. I am looking forward to moving animals in on Aug. 17and making the most of my last year in 4-H!
Goat curriculum used to create parts of the Skill-A-Thon for the Wasco County Fair.
Hi, I am Cydney Stables and this is my last week as an intern for the OSU Extension Communications office. As I am wrapping up the last week of my internship, I have taken some time to think about all the amazing opportunities this summer has provided me. Throughout this journey, I have learned a number of life skills that not only relate directly to my majors but also to any career path I choose to take.
During my internship, I had the opportunity to rotate among four teams in the Extension communications office: news and public issues, marketing, web and content strategy and publishing. While each team brought a new perspective to the overall outlook of the Extension communications department, I also had the opportunity to complete new and exciting tasks.
Cydney Stables
Some of my favorite projects this summer included:
Traveling across the state to explore county Extension offices.
Writing and publishing a news release.
Developing a 4-H postcard, brochure and templates.
Adding publications to the Extension website.
Creating and conducting an activity to help Extension with web organization.
Formatting the main Extension website topic pages.
Creating a social media plan to promote publications.
Editing various web articles.
Voting on my favorite T-shirt design to use as promotional material.
4-H instructional sheet template designed by Cydney Stables.
This list may seem long but there have been so many other tasks that have taught me new things, brought me out of my comfort zone, and helped me learn tips and tricks for my future success.
While working towards all of these goals, I also had the opportunity to work with interns in county offices on their blog posts. By reading each post I felt like I experienced an even broader perspective of the work Extension programs do. Being the intern for central Extension communications has provided me with an outlook on Extension from a new perspective.
My internship overall has been a great learning experience. By rotating among the different communications teams, I had the opportunity to learn a wide variety of skills including problem solving, seeking out advice, using outside resources, thinking outside the box, as well as drafting and revising.
I have had the opportunity to develop great connections among each employee in the office and work with different teams, different personalities, work environments and new and exciting tasks.
I have seen the hierarchy it takes to run a strong outreach organization and while leaders are important, every member of every office is just as important. Extension needs a communications network to bring the actions and efforts of county employees to the eyes of legislators while communicators need county employees to do the work and perform the outreach.
Instagram post for nutrition publication designed by Cydney Stables.
From traveling around that state at the beginning of my internship – seeing the day-to-day functions of county Extension employees – to working on central communications teams and even meeting important program leaders my internship has provided me with a well-rounded outlook of the tiered functionality of the Extension program in the state of Oregon. Growing up in Yamhill County I had the opportunity to call the Extension 4-H program home and I hope to someday work, volunteer or participate in the outreach of Extension, now and into the future.
I would like to thank all of the people I have had the opportunity to work with. It has been amazing to see how each team functions to bring together the value of Extension as a whole. Every individual is important in making an impact on the public, educating youths, connecting communities and empowering individuals. This internship has shown me what the purpose of Extension truly is from all levels. I have developed a great appreciation for county workers who assisted me in all my years through the 4-H program, for legislators and county commissioners who allocate the funding to support impactful programs, and for volunteers, staff, and faculty whose purpose it is to serve our communities.
Allow me to reintroduce myself, I am Keon Cohl Kiser, a sophomore at Oregon State University working as an intern at the OSU Extension Office in Wasco County. I began my summer internship around June 22nd, expecting to grow professional and people skills in order to obtain work experience and build my resume.
I am supervised by Lu Seapy in the Extension 4-H program, which, among other things, builds healthy communal and familial relationships through fun and educational camps for elementary and middle school kids. I was able to develop my professional and people skills by building new summer camps out of nothing, which includes the curriculum and the overall structure of each camp. The camps that I worked with involved a STEM focus. They included the technological side of building and programming robots and microcomputers and the scientific and educational side of raising awareness of what is considered recyclable and teaching about the local biology of the Columbia River Gorge.
Keon Kiser (middle left) at hiking camp at Catherine Creek Recreation Area.
As I operated these camps, I was able to see what it was like being a leader in terms of organization and maintaining control over an intense or chaotic situation. You can easily lose control when 22 kids all are working on a hands-on project – all at different paces. Unfortunately in some case the kids didn’t make as much progress as we had hoped on their creations and education.
Also, I will have the fortunate opportunity to work with Jacob Powell, Extension crops and livestock faculty in Wasco and Sherman counties. With Jacob I will be assisting in conducting research on forage kochia to study its resistance to fire in very dry environments. This is a great opportunity since not many undergraduate students can say they assisted in a research project, and I highly enjoy being on the field and learning new concepts.
Gladly, my internship was not like what you may see on TV, where the intern is tasked with only making coffee and walking around with papers. I was immediately challenged in doing things I have had little to no experience participating in like teaching and structuring/creating a curriculum on a consistent basis. Out of this internship I was able to get what I initially wanted out of it: Developing professional and people skills, being challenged, getting to know new people and having tons of fun.
I am blessed to have a job in which it doesn’t feel like a job, except when waking up early in the morning to make it on time, I was able to apply the 4-H mission by building relationship and inspiration within the Wasco County youth, and in the process inspiring myself to continue to excel with my own passions within and outside the STEM field.
My life recently has been a whirlwind of activities. Two weeks ago, I attended the 4-H Wild West camp in Salem. The following week we moved straight into Tillamook County’s 4-H horse fair and fashion revue. And this week I’m down at the Coos County Fair. Once I get back it is crunch time for the Tillamook County Fair. And once that is complete my internship will be ending.
Wild West camp final campfire.
Attending the Wild West camp as a staff member was a completely new experience for me. I say this because I was never able to go to camp as a 4-H’er even though it was something I had always wanted to be involved in. It was fun to see the interactions between counselors and campers from an outside perspective.
Some other new experiences for me were the horse fair and fashion revue. I loved getting to see and experience new sides and aspects of 4-H. It is great to see members who are so passionate about their projects.
This week I will be in Myrtle Point for the Coos County Fair for yet another new experience. I have never been able to attend another county fair other than my own. I am excited to see the differences and similarities between them and learn the ways different counties put on a fair.
Life won’t slow down after that though. Next week, there will be only two weeks until the Tillamook County fair will be fully underway. This is the most stressful part of the year but also by far my absolute favorite. I cannot wait to be surrounded by kids putting in hard work and seeing how they have learned and grown over the past year. Seeing the fruition of all of their efforts from the past few months is incredible and I am excited to see how fair works from a staff perspective rather than as a member and exhibitor.
Following fair is the end of my internship and the time for me to return to Montana and continue my education. So, with that I bid farewell to all of you and all of these amazing experiences that this internship has brought me.
Hi! My name is Anna Ehlers and I’m an OSU Extension summer intern at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center (SOREC) in Jackson County. I am an Oregon State University student majoring in horticulture with a minor in biological data science. I am working with my supervisor Lena Hosking, 4-H program coordinator in Jackson County.
Anna Ehlers poses with her display at the Jackson County Fair.
I have been working with 4-H for the past few weeks and I am having a great time. We just finished working at the Jackson County Fair and I helped with a bunch of prep work in preparation for the fair. I started off my internship getting to know 4-H, learning about its values as an Extension program and how it contributes to the community. I have worked on many marketing projects, including making and designing flyers, creating trifold displays, and printing necessary documents for the fair. It’s a lot of work making everything perfect. I needed to have a lot of attention to detail while also displaying our message and goals of 4-H in an easy-to-read document for the community.
I had the opportunity to work at the county fair as a judge and a craft coordinator. I judged horticulture, educational displays, and miscellaneous STEM projects. I learned how to judge fairly based on the criteria. Interviewing the younger kids was pretty fun! Many of them had passions in different projects, and I really enjoyed talking with them about their projects. I made sure to leave plenty of comments on all of their work, even when I already worked eight hours that day, because I wanted to make sure everyone could look back and see how they could improve their projects in the future. I did my best to be fair and in line with the guidelines set in place for the different age groups. As you may expect, the older kids did better than the younger kids, but I saw a lot of potential in many of the projects I judged that day.
My favorite part of the fair was working with the public as a craft coordinator. I had thought of three different projects, with advice from my supervisor, about what projects I could do. I needed to find project instructions online and modify them to work with the age groups I was expected to work with. I also needed to find all the supplies I needed in storage and create a list of the necessary materials needed to be ordered to make these projects possible. The projects I presented were dirt buddies, animal tracks/pinecone people, and bead crafts.
A youth pinecone craft.
The dirt buddies were a fun project where the kids put grass seed and dirt into a nylon sock, gluing googly eyes to the outside. When the kids get home, they watered their buddy and in a few days the grass seeds germinated and started to grow grass out of the top of their head – similar to a Chia Pet.
For my animal tracks and pinecone people craft I had plaster casts of four different animal footprints to show and ask the kids what they noticed about the tracks. I asked them about how many toes the tracks had then asked the kids how many fingers they had. Some of the younger kids thought it was pretty cool that opossums have the same number of toes that we do. I supplied coloring sheets with the same animals as the plaster casts so that they could make connections with the tracks to the animal. I also had a print-out of different animal tracks that the kids could look at. Their parents and grandparents were very intrigued by this page more than the kids were. On the other side of my table, I had the pinecone people crafts. The craft involves decorating a pinecone with googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and feathers to create a fun character. These two activities were designed to teach the kids about nature.
The final project I worked on was bead crafts. I provided images and instructions on how to make a bead doll, jellyfish, and a snake using various materials including pipe cleaners, egg cartons, string, pony beads, and googly eyes. This project was intended to work on motor skills as well as provide a chance to be creative using only a handful of materials. A number of kids deviated from my craft images and made their own designs, showing their creativity and ingenuity.
I have really enjoyed my time here so far. In the coming weeks I will be working with the different departments around SOREC as well as developing a horticulture curriculum for 4-H designed to be used next year.
Hello again! I am Kylie Siddoway, and I am interning at the OSU Extension office in Baker County Extension this summer.
With only a few weeks left of my internship I have learned a lot and experienced more. I am so thankful to have had this opportunity and to have worked with such amazing people. The Extension office and the Baker County Fairboard have been extraordinary. The last week of my internship is August 8-12 and it is also the Baker County Fair!
Kylie Siddoway
I have been responsible for major components of the fair such as vendors, volunteers and open class registration. I have communicated with businesses, professionals, and community members. I’ve managed the Facebook page and recorded radio advertisements. The 4-H and FFA staff have helped me to brainstorm new ideas for this year’s fair, and for future fairs. Later this week I will be training all superintendents for open class and ensuring they are prepared for the fair.
Along with all the preparation that goes into our county fair, I have had the opportunity to learn how to run and manage an office. My supervisor, Angela Robb, is an amazing teacher and has explained things to me in a way that I truly learn not only how, but why tasks are done.
This was more than a “copier and coffee” internship. It was a true professional job experience that has enhanced my skills and made me a more well-rounded and hirable employee. I truly enjoyed my internship and the people involved.
I highly recommend being involved with your county 4-H program. There is so much to be learned and so many opportunities to grow as an individual. My county is very livestock-oriented and I am myself, but there is more to 4-H than raising animals and more to Extension than many people realize!
This summer internship has had such a positive impact on me so far. My time spent working for OSU Extension in Malheur County is exciting and significant. It’s been illuminating to become aware of certain issues my county faces and how I can help meet their needs. Learning about different local partners in my county is very important to me as well because it expands my worldview.
Yolanda Diaz (left) helps with the makerspace event.
I’ve gotten to work with youth for makerspace events at summer school and with community partners. Makerspace is a program of the Frontier STEM Hub. It includes 3D printing, laser engraving, vinyl cutting for stickers, and heat-press for making T-shirts. I help students in our county by fostering their technology skills, spreading entrepreneurship awareness and expanding creativity.
The most recent makerspace event was in partnership with the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization. Interacting with youth through their designs and creations was a great way to learn about their stories and cultures. The makerspace builds a career-connected learning opportunity for youth and families within our county. One thing I love about Extension in Malheur County is that it does its best to be culturally responsive in diverse and effective manners.
Another valuable event that I’ve had the opportunity to help with is a literacy walk. We had about 30 different stations where leaders implemented physical activities to get from one “page” to another. The books that we use for walk-an- read events encourage students in regards to physical activity. I highly enjoy delivering this activity to create an action-oriented experience for children. One of our upcoming walk-and-read events will be Ontario Municipal Airport where families can meet with pilots and learn about different helicopters or planes. It will be a great experience!
Children participate in the walk-and-read literacy event in Malheur County. Photo by Yolanda Diaz.
Being a leader for 4-H participants has also been an eye-opening experience. I enjoy getting to know each student individually and am always impressed by their outstanding skills and service. Chaperoning for the state 4-H Summer Conference at OSU in Corvallis was a good time for me to learn the role of an adult in a different setting and be able to create the best experience possible for 4-Hers. I can’t wait to be a chaperone (and returning alumni) for the state Chief Science Officers Leadership Institute at East Oregon University.
This internship has also taught me to set boundaries and maintain a professional relationship with students who are close to my age, which will be important for my future profession. I also have the opportunity to document and establish fun activities for the Malheur Works internship program in their professional development days. My internship has exposed me to new roles and experiences that help me become more responsible as I’m adulting.
We still have so much planned for this summer, such as county fair and summer camps. I have such an amazing supervisor in Barbara Brody and can’t wait to continue learning with her help. I’m thankful for having such a positive work environment and I thank OSU Extension for giving me this great opportunity.
