I have truly enjoyed being an Oregon State University Extension Service this
summer. I have been able to participate in multiple events and develop new skills. While
my experience was entirely with 4-H I have had the opportunity to help with a range of
activities. I started off by teaching flower arranging at our Junior Master Gardener camp.
Flower arranging was one of my main 4-H projects, and I enjoyed sharing my
knowledge.

I also worked on my grant application skills by researching and looking at
successful applications. I had a difficult time finding grants that could be applied to the
specific things we needed them for. Some grants looked very promising and in the fine
print said that they would not give funds to universities or university programs. I was
successful with an application, and I also found a few perfect grants that we just missed
the deadlines for. I enjoyed learning about the grant application process, and I hope that
I can find a few more before my internship is over.

I continued creating Canva graphics for social media reminders, events and
posts. Throughout the last school year, I was working as an unpaid 4-H intern and all I
did was create social media posts. I have become well equipped using Canva and I can
see my improvement from my designs when I started.

The biggest part of my internship was working at the Polk County Fair. I spent
part of my time in the 4-H building answering questions and such. Most of my time was
spent running errands around the fairgrounds and helping with morning meetings.
In between these events I spent my time at the Oregon Outdoor Education
Center at 4-H Wild West Camp in July and August. I was not there only as an intern
necessarily, but it was still one of my favorite experiences working with 4-H this
summer.

The last two weeks I worked at the Oregon State Fair helping with setup,
teardown and picking up our county’s exhibits.

I think I gained a better understanding of 4-H programming and the work that
goes into things behind the scenes. I would tell future interns to participate in as many
things as they can. I have enjoyed participating in a wide range of events and activities
as an intern.

– Dean Burwash