Hello, my name is Abigail Cape, and I am an intern for Oregon State University Extension in Polk County 4-H in Dallas, OR. I am going into my second year at Oregon State University majoring in psychology with a minor in music. After I graduate, I am- as of right now- hoping to go to graduate school to get my doctorate in psychology. For my future career I hope to either have a career as a counselor with a specialty in trauma and PTSD or becoming a counselor for teens and young adults. My past experience with Oregon State Extension primarily is being a member of 4-H for nine years, and volunteering with 4-H extension for a year. Throughout my time in 4-H I showed rabbits, bred and owned market rabbits, turkeys, and bred and owned market turkeys, as well as various leadership roles.

Over this summer I hope to learn about how the behind the scenes of fair and setting up classes for 4-H youth. One thing that I am really looking forward to this summer as an intern is my internship project and helping out with our county fair. For my project I am planning a showmanship clinic for small animals. My plan is to create a class that will cover various areas that can help youth improve their showmanship skills like, show presence, handling and show knowledge. This class will be conducted by slides and an in person class that will also be recorded so that the class can be used in future years. The clinic will be separated into four parts: show and barn attire, show presence, knowledge, and animal safety. I wanted to create this class, because when I was first showing I wasn’t given a lot of this information and had to learn as I went. I hope that this class can help people get introduced to this information in a stress-free environment. I love 4H and am so excited to help Polk County 4H in any way I can, and I can’t wait to see what this summer has in store for me.