Hi my name is Heidi Moran! This will be my second summer as an Oregon State University Extension intern in Union County. I just finished my second year at Eastern Oregon University where I am majoring in elementary education. I was involved in 4-H for 9 years and last summer I really enjoyed having a larger role in 4-H events around Union County. So far this summer I have helped at Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, Tri County 4-H Camp, and our Iron Chef Cooking Class. I really enjoyed working and helping at these events which I had participated in for many years while I was in 4-H.
At the beginning of my internship, I was able to work out at Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union, OR. I was able to help with some of the livestock shows, answer questions, and help with awards. It was a great way to start off my summer internship.
A highlight so far from the summer was helping with Tri-County 4-H Camp. I was able to help prepare for the camp by organizing camp supplies, make cabin boxes, and counselor binders. At 4-H Camp I taught an ice cream making class, popped popcorn for the movie night, and helped where needed during the camp. 4-H Camp was something I always looked forward to each summer when I was younger and I enjoyed having a larger role this year.
This has already been a great summer and I am excited to see what the rest of the summer has in store for me
Hi again, Sienna Mahaffy from Coos County here! This summer has been pretty incredible. I got to work with the Food Hero program multiple times, educating the public on the resource through farmers markets and cooking classes! I also got to spend a day working in the field with Coos and Curry County’s forestry agent, tracking down and collecting samples of a new disease that is causing defoliation of myrtle trees. The Coos County Fair was crazy busy, but super successful, definitely the highlight of my summer. A year’s worth of preparation by the Oregon State University Extension Service in Coos County, 4-H members, and volunteers culminated into a busy, stressful, and fun week.
Sienna Mahaffy at a Food Hero Booth in Coos County Photo: Nicole Wells
I had a blast with my internship project. I was responsible for restarting the annual Milk Drinking Contest under 4-H at the fair. I enjoyed reaching out to my contacts in the dairy industry to ask for donations of milk and prizes. Working with local dairy farmers at the event and bringing positive attention to the industry with the record number of participants and crowds made the event so much more rewarding. It was remarkable to see the excitement generated by a simple relay race and the effect it had on the 4-H kids, families, and visitors of the fair.
Assisting in the organization and operations of the Livestock Judging and Master Showmanship contests was another highlight of fair. I was responsible for rounding up volunteers and animals for judging, as well as helping the event run smoothly. I also assisted in finding judges for Master Showmanship, asking former winners and professionals in their species to judge. In both events I and a couple volunteers calculated and recorded the scores of the contestants, a long, tedious job that I actually enjoyed.
Through this internship I learned the importance of delegating responsibilities. 4-H is an incredible program run by some incredible people, but it would be impossible to operate without volunteers and the community’s willingness to help. Coos County’s two 4-H agents are great at their jobs, but they can not be everywhere and do everything, so they ask for help and delegate duties that need to be completed to willing and responsible volunteers, or interns in my case!
My name is Tayleur Baker, and I am a sophomore at Oregon State University studying speech communication with a minor in agriculture sciences. My passion for the agriculture industry sprouted through my various experiences throughout my childhood. To start, I grew up in Harney County, right outside of Burns, and I fell in love with the agriculture industry on my family’s fifth generation cattle ranch. Later, I began showing livestock and became involved in my local 4-H and FFA programs. At the beginning of my senior year of high school, I encountered an experience of a lifetime, and traveled to Washington D.C. to speak with senators and representatives, which captivated my attention and interest, and opened the door of agriculture communications to me. In the future, post-graduation, I hope to continue in agriculture communication and become an advocate for the industry.
4-H day campers learning with Legos. Photos: Tayleur Baker
This is my second-year interning with Oregon State University Extension Services and I’m loving it. Last year, I served within the OSU Extension office in Harney County as an office intern, and this year, I’m working within the newly created title of being the remote Eastern Oregon multimedia communications intern. Unlike last year, instead of serving within the same county for the whole year, I travel to various different Eastern Oregon counties to assist with providing media coverage. My goal throughout this internship is to be able to serve Eastern Oregon and tell the story along the way. I feel that Eastern Oregon often gets overlooked as nowhere land to pass through, but there is so much more to it than meets the eye. This summer, I am ecstatic to receive the opportunity to prove just that.
Throughout my internship thus far, I have worked on professional development, videography for OSU Extension, and I attended a day camp in Sherman County. In the weeks ahead, I hope to continue with this work and attend more events, gather stories from more counties, and showcase the role of OSU Extension in Eastern Oregon. Upon the closing of my internship, I hope to have substantial media to produce a video about Eastern Oregon and the amazing work currently being done there. I look forward to becoming an advocate and resource throughout this summer’s internship experience while growing professionally as well.
I am Matthew Harting and I am a mechanical engineering student at Oregon State University. This summer I have been working at the OSU Extension office in Douglas County for 4-H. I haven’t had any prior experience with the Extension Service and my experience with agriculture is also limited. Nevertheless, I have been learning a lot about 4-H and am very grateful for the opportunity to intern with the Extension office.
Mathew Harting painting at 4-H Clover Bud Camp in Douglas County
Recently, I got the opportunity to teach at the Cloverbud camp in the Discovery Gardens in Roseburg. I was in charge of an exhibit called ‘The Mud Explosion’. When I informed the 4-Hers of this, you may imagine, their anticipation and curiosity were captured. Little did they know, the real display is better described as a small pop. However, they seemed not to care which I was thankful for.
I did the routine three times for three groups. By the time of the third group, I had gotten pretty good at it. The ‘explosion’ worked by filling a vial with runny mud and sealing it with an Alka-Seltzer. Eventually, the Alka-Seltzer would produce enough gass that it would blow open the vial it was in and make a muddy mess all over the launch pad (construction paper). The highest we vial we were able to launch landed in a small tree. Whomever wished to take the remaining muddy paper home then would be able to, undoubtedly to their parents’ delight.
Beyond the Cloverbud camp, I most look forward to the looming Douglas County Fair. Most of the work I have done thus far in my internship has been in preparation it. Before I became involved, I didn’t fully realize or appreciate all of the work it takes to have a county fair every year. I’m well aware now.
My job there will be to help with the daily tasks, such as counting and running ribbons to the appropriate places as well as any odd job that may come up and require attention. I am looking forward to this a lot! Regardless, in my second blog post I’m sure I will have plenty to say regarding Fair.
Greetings fellow farmers and lovers of Agriculture!
My name is Mia Claire Koljian and I am one of the summer interns for the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture at Oregon State University. I am currently a senior working on my bachelors degree of science in botany with a concentration in ecology, evolution, and conservation. I am located in Corvallis and I am hoping to obtain a master’s in plant pathology. In my future I see myself working in environment stability by studying and preventing plant diseases. I have a goal of working in laboratories to study invasive pests and pathogens and their impact on the environment they are in.
Mia Claire Koljian at Oregon State Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture Photo: Mia Claire Koljian
When going into the summer term I knew that I wanted to be working on a farm, and I was very lucky to be provided the opportunity to work on the Dry Farm through the Extension Service Program at the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture. So what is Dry Farming? Dry farming is crop production without irrigation during a dry season. It is a practice that emphasizes production and growth with as little intervention as possible. I have greatly enjoyed my time working on the dry farms so far and have been extremely supported as a worker by my supervisor Lucas Nebert. Under Lucas’ guidance I have learned so much about the processes of the dry farm and all the foundational techniques of farming. It is a goal of mine to become more knowledgeable in the processes of organic farming and working on plots of land, and I feel that I am able to achieve this with the Dry Farm Program.
So far we have been doing necessary upkeep of the land like weeding, pruning, and planting. One of my favorite tasks that I’ve been working on is planting cucumber melons next to the pollinator garden at the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture. Starting your mornings by being out in the sun and listening to the sounds of nature has been such an excellent time for me. One of the other tasks I have enjoyed doing is assisting my supervisor Lucas with his project on studying drought resistant corn. The working hypothesis is that by inoculating a corn plant in its early stages with an endophyte, it will be able to assist the corn plant in becoming more drought tolerant and being able to grow and produce a fruiting body under those conditions. Endophytes are bacteria or fungi that live between living plant cells. They can have symbiotic relationships and aid in stress tolerance for the plant. I have found this very interesting to work with because it can provide foundational work for what I want to study in my future career. I am hoping to learn more information about organic farming plant microorganisms during my time with the dry farm.
Hello again, from the Oregon State University Extension in Tillamook County 4-H Intern, Alli Dixson. There are only about two weeks left of my internship and it still feels like it just began. Somehow it has already been two months of hard and fulfilling work (and a healthy dose of chaos).
Campfire skits at wild west camp. Photo: Alli Dixson
To be quite frank with you, I have barely been in the office at all in the past two weeks. And I will hardly be in the office at all in the next two weeks. However, this is not due to any lack of work, tasks, jobs, or anything of the sort. I have been taking my work on the road! Much of this internship has had me working at different events and locations across the western part of the state.
My trips include:
Summer Conference at OSU in Corvallis
Wild West Camp at The Oregon 4-H Center in Salem
Swine Judge at Columbia County Fair in St. Helens (outside of work but still awesome!)
Coming up very soon (like starting this week) the majority of my time will be spent at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds.
As I mentioned above, I attended Wild West Camp at the 4-H Center, where I served as the assistant director. Wild West Camp is a 4-H camp for kids ages 9-13. Campers participate in a wide variety of activities and lessons such as arts and crafts, fishing, equitation, archery, environmental sciences, leadership/relationship skill building, etc. We also have a very strong team of youth leaders that run cabins, manage campers, lead activities, and many other things. My role at camp was somewhat all encompassing. One moment I would be applying a bandage or ice pack to a small wound, the next I was helping youth tie-dye, not a moment later I would be consoling campers and cabin leaders alike on their concerns or issues. I fielded a wide range of questions, conversations, and intense feelings from youth about their camp experience. This was a great experience for my personal and professional development and I am happy to have been “Gator” (my camp name) to another year’s worth of campers.
We are very quickly approaching the Tillamook County Fair. It begins on August 7th, but for me and others in my office it has already been underway for weeks. We have been hard at work preparing for the fair and organizing events leading up to fair week.
My personal tasks for fair preparation and during fair week include:
Creating recognition posters for horse fair, fashion revue, and foods and presentation contest
Social media posts for:
Fair Schedules
Member/Leader Awards
Event Spotlights
Recognition posts
Fashion Revue
Foods and Presentation Contest
Creating materials for and running the Livestock Quiz Bowl
Creating the awards script and slide show
Finding and managing a photographer
Running Master Showmanship
Additionally, I serve as one of the two “Swine Superintendents”, meaning that I am largely responsible for the happenings of the barn and the running of all swine shows.
Needless to say, I am absolutely swamped with all things county fair, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I absolutely love fair and enjoy the chaos that it brings to my life. On top of all of the fair activities I am preparing to move to the Corvallis area immediately following the county fair so that I can begin my master’s program at OSU.
Hello! My name is Riley Hampton, I just finished my first year at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. I am super excited to start my internship with Oregon State University Extension. I am working this summer with the 4-H program in Umatilla County, an organization I am very familiar with as I have been a member of Umatilla 4-H since I was 9 years old.
Clay Pig made by 4-Her Katie Knudsen. Photo: Riley Hampton
Even though the summer just started, Umatilla County 4-H is in full swing. The fair is just around the corner, and just last week was our very first Umatilla County 4-H Pre-Fair. Exhibitors competed in Food Preparation Contests, Fashion Revue, Table Setting, and Presentations. It was amazing to see all the involvement by the 4-H members this past week.
Another first for Umatilla County 4-H, was our inaugural Cupcake Wars competition, which took place on Thursday of Pre-Fair. 4-H Members compete in teams of two and together create a dozen themed cupcakes in two hours. This year’s themes were “vacation” and “Dr. Seuss”. I was very impressed with the work these members presented, even if I was very full of cupcakes by the end of the day.
This year marks the 3rd annual Camp Cloverbud, and I was lucky enough to be able to lead it on the last day of Pre-Fair. Twenty Cloverbuds came to participate in five educational activity stations, taking home five different projects that can be entered into fair. One of my goals regarding Camp Cloverbud was to teach Cloverbuds about many different parts of 4-H activities. Campers participated in an art project, livestock project, plant project and even a science experiment!
I am currently studying emerging media and digital arts at Southern Oregon University, with hopes of becoming a digital artist and animation showrunner. I am using my design experience to create new displays that will be presented at the Umatilla County Fair. Wish me luck!
I am super proud of everything that happened during Pre-Fair and I’m very excited for the rest of the summer! I am located at the OSU Extension Office in Hermiston. I hope to meet you all this summer at Umatilla County Fair in Hermiston, Oregon, August 7-10. Stay cool and see you soon.
Without the opportunities that OSU Extension has offered me I know I would not be the self-reliant person I am today. I have been a 4-H’er for eight years, and have been able to increase my knowledge through educational events, inspiring programs and transforming travel. Now, after I have graduated from high school and am heading off into adulthood, I have the chance to work with Extension, and not only build my professional proficiency but have the opportunity to help youth also experience such enriching moments.
Nyla Bennett high school graduation photo. Photo: Patrick Farrell
Hi, my name is Nyla Bennett. I’m proud to say that I am a student intern at the Oregon State University Extension office in Wheeler County. It’s been almost a month since I graduated high school and then four days later started this job. I’ve enjoyed every second of it.
Since finishing high school, I have realized that a majority of my favorite memories and closest friends have stemmed from the 4-H program. The events that had brought me and my peers together I now work on to continue and make better. Now, I get to be a larger part of our Tri-County 4-H Camp, 4-H Field Day, Clover Bud Day Camps, County Fair, State Fair and so much more. I have already been working on advertising, organizing and orchestrating these events and can’t wait to lead and teach them as the summer goes on.
However, I’m anticipating what will come after this summer ends even more. I’m planning on attending Eastern Oregon University and applying to their branch of OHSU for Nursing. I hope to earn my BSN and become a registered Nurse. From there I anticipate working a few years and hopefully having the opportunity to become a traveling nurse. I then aim to find a specific area I enjoy to specialize in, and pursue a master’s degree.
This position with OSU is a blessing I’m incredibly grateful for. I find this position enriching. It’s an experience I have not had before. In our incredibly rural area, there are limited job opportunities that aren’t an hour away. Learning from my supportive supervisor, preparing for my future, and being able to help kids expand their worldview is a gift. One I hope to pass on through my dedication to “Making the Best Better.”
Hi everyone! My name is Jackie Ruff, and I’m thrilled to share a bit about my journey and the work I’ve been doing. Currently, I’m in my third year of undergrad at Oregon State University, majoring in environmental science with a concentration in chemistry and the environment and minoring in education. It’s been a fantastic ride so far, blending my love for science with a passion for teaching.
Rocks painted by intern Jackie Ruff for the community garden in Marion County. Photo: Jackie Ruff
I’m based out of the Oregon State University Extension Service office in Benton County, but my work takes me across various counties through the Groundwater Quality Education Program. This program is an amazing initiative that aims to protect and improve our groundwater quality. Since starting in October, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to engage with communities and make a tangible difference in people’s lives.
One of the key aspects of my role is organizing outreach events throughout different counties. These events provide free well water screening for nitrate and offer education on wells and septic systems. It’s a rewarding experience to see how these efforts help ensure the safety and health of our communities. Many people rely on well water for their daily needs and educating them about potential contaminants and how to maintain their systems is crucial. It’s not just about testing water; it’s about empowering people with the knowledge they need to protect their families and the environment.
Another project that we have been working on involves painting inspiration rocks. These aren’t just any rocks — they’re little pieces of art and hope. We donate them to the Marion County Juvenile Department to inspire visitors to maintain positive outlooks on life. It might seem like a small gesture, but sometimes a bit of color and a few encouraging words can make a world of difference to someone going through a tough time. The process of painting these rocks is therapeutic and fun, and knowing they bring a smile to someone’s face makes it all the more special.
Balancing my studies and this work can be challenging, but it’s incredibly fulfilling. My education in environmental science, particularly with a focus on chemistry and the environment, gives me a solid foundation to understand the complexities of groundwater issues. Meanwhile, my minor in education helps me effectively communicate and share this knowledge with the community. It’s a perfect blend that prepares me for a future where I can continue making a positive impact.
Hi everyone! My name is Elsa Buchholz, and I am currently going into my fourth year as an undergraduate student at Oregon State University. If everything goes according to plan, I will be graduating this coming fall. I am majoring in Public Health with an option in Health Promotion and Health Behavior, as well as a minor in Environmental and Occupational Health and a certificate in Medical Humanities. I am based in the Corvallis OSU Extension office as an intern for the Groundwater Protection Program. Although I do not have a set career path at the moment, my main passion is in environmental health. I am particularly interested in climate and reproductive health, and I want to research the intersection between the two if possible. I plan to continue my education in graduate school to explore these areas further. This internship over the summer is my first experience working with the OSU Extension Service.
Elsa Buchholz at the Tri-county business expo with OSU Extension in Lane County. Photo: Kelci Free
This summer I hope to learn more about community outreach and the efforts that are required to make a positive impact on the health of the community and the environment. I am particularly looking forward to the opportunity to schedule, plan, and participate in my own events. While I have had the chance to help create and send out postcards for events, advertise them online, and participate in them during my internship so far, I am excited to take on the responsibility of organizing multiple events from start to finish. I have been brainstorming several project ideas that I believe will both contribute to the goals of the OSU Extension Service, as well as relate to my personal interests in the field of public health. One of these ideas is to design and implement a survey or questionnaire that gathers important information from community members. This survey would aim to better understand how people discovered the Groundwater Protection Program, and the OSU Extension Service in general, how they heard about our events, whether they had their water tested for nitrate at our events, if they received any publications on well water or septic systems, and what changes, if any, they made after attending our events. Collecting and analyzing this data would help us to better understand the impact of our efforts and identify any areas for improvement. This project would help us refine our outreach strategies, as well as ensure that we are effectively addressing the needs of the community.
