Allison Dixon « OSU Extension Internship Program

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 Alli Dixson. I am writing from the Oregon State University Extension office in Tillamook County, where I intern with the Tillamook County 4-H program.

Allison Dixon with dairy cows in Tillamook County

I grew up in Tillamook, Oregon, and graduated from Tillamook High School in 2021. During my time in the community, I was actively involved in 4-H and FFA. After high school, I moved to Bozeman, Montana, to pursue a degree at Montana State University. In just three years, I graduated from Montana State with a bachelor of animal science, concentrating in livestock management and industry. While at Montana State University, I participated in numerous student organizations, including Collegiate Stockgrowers, Collegiate FFA, Collegiate 4-H, and Sigma Alpha (a professional agricultural sorority). I also gained professional experience in various fields, such as veterinary medicine at a large animal veterinary clinic, early childhood education at a daycare, animal nutrition at a feed store, and extension experience at both the Montana State 4-H Center and the Tillamook County 4-H program.

After my internship with OSU this summer, I will attend Oregon State University in the fall to pursue a Master’s in Agricultural Education. Following my graduate degree, I hope to work in extension, ideally focusing on livestock.

I am about two months into my internship and have been very busy so far. My main priority has been organizing an animal science clinic, which will cover various topics related to livestock projects and industries. The clinic will address dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, rabbits and poultry. Topics include daily care and management of animals, fair preparation, showmanship, consumer/producer relationships, marketing, selection and evaluation of livestock and basic livestock nutrition. This event will take place on July 13 at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds and is open to all youth ages 9-19.

This project has involved many skills, including planning, budgeting, cold calling, and scheduling among other things. I have communicated with industry professionals across the western United States to find facilitators for the clinic. Whether or not these experts have agreed to facilitate, I have been met with positivity and have formed new professional relationships, which I am very grateful for, as networking is always important.

In addition to the clinic planning and preparation, I have been working on other projects. I have created resources for the animal science quiz bowl at our County Fair, helped with Cloverbud day camps, attended 4-H Summer Conference as a county chaperone, assisted with preparations for camp and fair, and led workshops and training for youth members.

I am looking forward to the upcoming events and the rest of my internship, which will allow me to grow as a young professional.

OSU Extension Internship Program

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