Hello everyone, my name is Destiny Driessen and this summer I will be working with Oregon State University Extension Service in Washington County. While I opted to not take summer classes, I am still an OSU student pursuing a major in sustainable horticulture and a minor in botany. I will mostly be working with 4-H staff members to ensure the youth involved in these programs are safe, included and engaged in activities. A lot of my time will be spent at various fairs across the county, helping and learning in any way I can.

While it’s still the first week of my internship and I’ve been going through the mundane activities that entails, I feel a growing excitement to attend fairs in the upcoming weeks. The first fair I will be attending is the horse fair, which should prove to be exciting. I hope to improve my abilities to communicate with people I may not know and to gain a sense of the amount of work that is put into these events. I have always held a passion for everything that nature has to offer, including plants and animals. And I believe it’s of the utmost importance to get youth excited about respecting nature and working with it in order to have enjoyable learning experiences. Nature has so much to offer, and society seems to increasingly ignore that. Youth are our greatest asset in changing the world and preserving nature.

While participating in this internship, I hope to learn a multitude of things. However, there are a couple that I am especially invested in. First, I aim to gain confidence in my abilities to communicate and connect with people in order to help spread knowledge. I would also like to hone my leadership skills so that I feel comfortable working with a diverse group of people and am able to keep them engaged. Last, as my summer project I hope to get an idea of what it’s like to create a seed packet that is both visually compelling and informative to the public — possibly, a seed blend for attracting native pollinators or a mix of edible native plants. I believe all of these goals will help me in my future as they are skills that will help connect me with people who have similar career paths and serve as a basis for my continued learning.

I am excited to be here and ready to serve my community.