Family and Community Health « OSU Extension Internship Program

A woman teaches a young girl at a table outside under an Oregon State University canopy. — Yolanda Diaz teaching new generations in Malheur County.
Photo credit: Sierra Dobson

Hello everyone! I am Yolanda Diaz, a Family and Community Health intern for Oregon State University Extension Service in Malheur County. This is my second year as an OSU intern, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have this wonderful opportunity. Currently, I attend George Fox University where I am majoring in social work. As a social work student, I am always eager to discover ways to empower families and communities. This internship has provided me with a glimpse into the resources, events and opportunities that Eastern Oregon has to offer as well as the areas that require additional support. I am grateful that my education has taught me the importance of meeting people where they are and using appropriate methods to assist them. This internship has significantly enhanced my ability to respond to various situations.

As an intern this year, I’ve been helping to address the issue of food insecurity in Malheur County. Last year, I attended a meeting of the Western Treasure Valley (WTV) Food Systems partnership. We discussed how food systems operate, the underlying causes of obstacles within these systems and the WTV team’s proposed solutions. During this discussion, there were suggestions for building a connection between community members and food systems partners. Although I missed some important updates and conversations while I was away at school in 2022-2023, it was amazing to come back this year and see the progress my colleagues have made.

This month, I was involved in the planning process for a food systems partnership “community center.” With the help of local professionals and the Oregon Food Bank, we were able to come up with a vision for a future location. It’s been rewarding to have been a part of this project from the beginning to where it is now and where it’s heading. I feel a strong connection with my community now more than ever. Being involved in the different stages of addressing food insecurity in Malheur County is an experience I never expected. I’ve now witnessed the hard work and dedication that goes into creating a healthy and meaningful environment for families in our community.

I have consistently developed and shared information on Foodhero.org at farmers’ markets, educating community members of all ages. I’ve also assisted with delivering cooking camps in rural towns in Malheur County. It is valuable to connect with people in the same county because one conversation can have a significant impact. Promoting healthy living through research-based recipes and physical activities is essential for my community.

Being able to create meaningful work to bring recreation and life to our community is rewarding. The work I’m doing has provided me with a chance to develop my passion for Extension.

A group of 14 young people on bleachers. — Camp counselor training.
Photo credit – Deb Warnock

Hello, my name is Jacob Falk. This summer I will be a summer intern in the OSU Extension office in Wallowa County. I am a student at the University of Idaho pursuing a degree in agricultural education with a minor in veterinary sciences.

I grew up in Wallowa County and was heavily involved with our local 4-H program. I worked closely with Debi Warnock on 4-H projects and building leadership skills. When she suggested this internship to me, I was interested to see how Extension education would differ from traditional classroom instruction. Being able to have a well-rounded concept of everything involving my career path will encourages me to make a sound, well-rounded, long-term career decision that will be productive and enjoyable.

I have been working at the Extension office for a little over a month. So far, I have had the opportunity to interact with almost every Extension program Wallowa County has to offer. I have been able to monitor the population of armyworm in the county with our forestry and natural resources agent, planned youth events and participated in multiple 4-H leadership activities with our 4-H Youth Development agent and began helping with our local SNAP-Ed program with the Family Community Health program. Overall, my experience so far has been greatly diversified and my work has been fulfilling and encouraging!

I am eager to keep working and I’m finding I’m most interested in the 4-H Youth Development Program. I am excited to keep helping to plan 4-H events and interact with a high quality youth who are driven to learn.

Hi, I’m Molly Taylor, and I’m finishing up my last two weeks as an Extension intern in Hood River and Wasco counties, working in the Family and Community Health Program. Over the course of my internship, I’ve had many opportunities that have helped me develop skills for my future career, no matter what path I decide to take. 

A woman in a black Food Hero apron stands at a table filled with trail mix ingredients. — Molly Taylor providing DIY trail mix at a day camp in Hood River.

Some of my favorite experiences have been assisting and carrying out a 4-H cooking camp – where I got to do food demonstrations and teach kitchen skills and safety – providing snacks for local day camps and putting together recipe books for the SNAP-Ed program using Food Hero recipes. Throughout all of these experiences I’ve been able to build communication and teaching skills, planning strategies, and problem-solving methods that will benefit me in my future endeavors.

Over the summer, I’ve enjoyed working with different programs like Family and Community Health, 4-H and Open Campus/Juntos. I’ve been able to see all that Extension does in the community and how it truly makes a difference by getting people involved and excited about learning how to better themselves and the area they live in. Throughout all of these programs, I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot with kids and it’s been especially fun to see their excitement to learn and to then take their new knowledge home to their families. This showed that not only do Extension teaching programs support adults who are trying to make a difference, but also has that impact on younger generations which makes a lasting difference. 

With my internship coming to a close, for the last two weeks I will be finishing up the recipe books that will be handed out at local schools in the fall by the SNAP-Ed program in Wasco County and potentially doing something at the Wasco County Fair. I look forward to taking all the things I’ve learned from Extension and applying them to the rest of my schooling and future jobs and leave having an extra appreciation for the work and impact that Extension has on communities like mine. 

Hi there, I’m Molly Taylor. I grew up in The Dalles, and I’m currently a student at Oregon State University, where I just finished my third year. I’m majoring in nutrition with a dietetics option and a minor in public health. Once I finish my bachelor’s degree I hope to complete a dietetic internship/master’s program and become a registered dietitian. Right now, I picture myself doing clinical work in a hospital and potentially becoming a diabetes educator, so I’m excited to work with OSU Extension and learn about the strategies used to educate the public.

This summer I’m interning with Lauren Kraemer in the Extension Family and Community Health Program at the Extension offices in Wasco and Hood River counties. It’s my first time working as an intern with extension and I’m looking forward to seeing all the different tools and strategies Extension utilizes to reach different populations in the local communities. My impression right now, with only two weeks under my belt, is that Extension goes out into the community and provides more accessible and equitable learning opportunities that some communities may not have had without Extension services.

This summer I will be doing a variety of things such as food demonstrations at local farmers markets, handing out snacks at day camps, demonstrations at food pantries, along with helping out with some 4-H cooking camps and potentially helping to create a cookbook using Food Hero recipes for seasonal migrant workers and their families who make Wasco and Hood River counties their home for the summer.

Last week I got to see Extension in action when I helped out with a 4-H cooking camp. The camp taught kids how to cook a three-course meal using Food Hero recipes which are balanced, easy-to-make and affordable. The camp also allowed the kids to develop food safety skills and measuring techniques which got them excited about what they were eating because they had a part in creating it. There were also some MyPlate activities where we went over the MyPlate illustration with the kids and then had them build their own meals using pictures of different foods. It was fun to see the kids get excited about food and put their MyPlate knowledge to work by brainstorming different meals using some of their favorite foods while trying to incorporate all the food groups in order to have a balanced meal.

I’m excited to continue working and learning from all the opportunities and experiences that come with this internship!

Hello, this is Kanar Shaiban. During my internship for the OSU Extension office in Jackson County, I learned how to be self-sufficient and obtain information and awareness by seeking answers independently. My experience also strengthened my ability to think by encouraging me to look for evidence and generate effective solutions. Furthermore, it taught me how to address the community’s challenges through my projects.

I also learned how to perform a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis as a skill in my report about unmet housing needs in Jackson County. This internship was also helpful because it seemed like an environmental scan that covered every aspect of the community. Most significantly, my internship experience and projects taught me how to connect my public health major to the general well-being of the population and community.

I want others to realize how valuable OSU Extension is to the community and how it seeks to provide information, resources, and expertise to solve local issues and help everyone thrive.

Extension also promotes positive change through initiatives that make everyone feels secure and welcome. For example, when working with Jackson County during my internship, I realized that Extension is dedicated to serving all those in need.

In my job, I assisted undocumented survivors who were primarily impacted by last September’s wildfires but were ineligible for federal housing assistance. While doing so, I realized what my career is all about and how it strives to engage with the community to address unmet needs and challenges, resolve them, and develop innovative solutions. I realized how OSU Extension could be linked to my public health major. It helped me comprehend what my degree is all about, it served me put what I learned into practice, and it allowed me to appreciate what my career entails even more.

In general, the OSU Extension experience taught me the value of serving the vulnerable and those in need, and I realized how vital my profession is to society. This internship is something I would strongly suggest to other OSU students. It’s hard to determine a favorite aspect of my internship experience because I liked every aspect of it. However, the most satisfying element was exploring solutions to assist those in need and identifying methods to address their challenges.

Hello everyone! My name is Brady Monteith, and I’m a sophomore at the University of Arizona, studying nutrition and food systems. Although I go to school Arizona, I grew up in Klamath Falls, Oregon. I’m back home for the summer, so I’m interning with the OSU Extension office in Klamath County. Klamath is a very ag-centric community, so I’ve grown up surrounded by agriculture. My family owns and operates a commercial farm, and my first job was to drive tractor and rake hay, so I’ve always felt quite connected to that side of the food system.

During my internship I will be working under the supervision of Patty Case. My goal through this internship will be to better understand the Klamath food systems and the many people who play many diverse roles in it. I will be doing this through a few different projects. The main project I will be working on will be Extension’s role at the local farmers market. We will be working with the market director to provide nutrition education and help people to use their SNAP-Ed benefits to purchase local produce. I will also be assisting Extension Master Gardeners in their role at the farmers market. In addition to these projects, I will be assisting with the Cooking Matters program, to further expand on the nutrition education side of things.

Before starting this internship, I really didn’t know much about OSU Extension. I had heard of Master Gardeners, but only knew that some people used them to test their soil. I came into the internship with pretty much no knowledge of what I would end up doing. However, the wonder people at Extension were quick to help get me oriented and have given me every tool I need to be successful. 

Joseph O’Brien recently completed an internship in the OSU Extension office in Umatilla County.

I would like to start by saying I’m very grateful and appreciative to have had the opportunity to work as a student intern through the OSU Umatilla County Extension Service. Throughout these past 10 weeks, I’ve worked on countless projects, interacted with community members, and grown personally.

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, this internship has proved me wrong again and again. For instance, obtaining knowledge about the programs, resources, and workshops offered to everyone in the nearby communities of Umatilla and Morrow counties.

Toward the beginning of this internship, I was encouraged to create two personal objectives. Here is what I came up with: Grow within a professional work environment/improve my work ethic skills, and provide educational content about community health to young adults and youth in nearby communities.

One way I’ve incorporated these objectives into this experience is through the STEM Saturday experiments for kids that my fellow intern Ruben and I have been working on throughout this entire internship. An example would include a water tension experiment. I explained that when you dip dish soap into pepper-covered water, the water tension is disturbed. Therefore, the pepper is pushed to the edges of the plate. One way I related this to my community health objective is washing your hands. This allowed the kids to imagine that the pepper is dirt, bacteria, or any other bacterium/infective agent and explaining how important it is to wash your hands under warm water with soap for at least 20 seconds. I felt this was especially important to include considering the global COVID-19 pandemic.

During this process, Ruben and I created “Take and Make” sheets and a lesson plan for these six different water-based experiments. This part of the project really incorporated both objectives I created by allowing us to provide knowledge, collaborate with each other and relay information to our supervisor, and educate others while still having fun!

On the occasion that I was asked what my internship entailed, I made sure to tell them about how I was able to connect with community members, help at workshops, take projects head on, grow professionally, and develop skills that are not offered many places. Additionally, I would like to encourage those who seek challenges, a variety of tasks, and who want to learn more about the community they reside in to research this internship opportunity.

None of this would have been possible without my amazing supervisor, Anna Browne or fellow intern and friend Ruben Lopez. When I look back at this internship experience and my involvement with the OSU Extension Service here in Umatilla county, I would not change anything.

Stay safe everyone and remember to practice social distancing and wear your mask!

Joseph O’Brien is an intern in the OSU Extension office in Umatilla County.

In mid- to late July, I had the chance to work with community members from Umatilla and Morrow counties at Nuts, Bolts, and Thingamajigs Workshop Camp (NBT), a two-week day camp with 10 new students each week. During this camp, my role was to put on a team-building activity each weekday for at least 15 to 30 minutes for the middle schoolers attending – sixth through eighth grade – and help throughout the day. The purpose of NBT camp was to educate the youth about the workforce positions available within the Port of Morrow located in Boardman as well as positions available in Hermiston, and also teach them about apprenticeships, how to be entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, and get them to start thinking about their future, all while following state safety regulations. Examples of workforce jobs we talked about included electricians, food manufacturers, diesel mechanics, etc.

Umatilla Electric Cooperative provides electrical circuit activity for youth at the NBT camp.

One thing I took away from this camp was not only are these jobs going to be around for a very long time, but also, it is up to Generation Z to make sure that these jobs are filled. None of this would have been possible without Kalie Davis, workforce training manager at Port of Morrow and her two interns; Leah Harris at the Port of Morrow, Anna Browne, my internship supervisor and the 4-H/Juntos Latino outreach coordinator and acting Umatilla County Extension Service agent; Ruben Lopez, an Extension intern in Umatilla County; educators from Blue Mountain Community College and Pendleton School District, and workforce presenters from Umatilla Electric Cooperative and Boardman Foods.

Another interesting job I had was being part of the OSU TRACE-COVID-19 project in Hermiston. I thought this would be an important experience to provide my services and share with you. A commonality between the TRACE-COVID-19 Project and Extension Service is providing the community with resources that may not be present. In this case, OSU provided free COVID-19 tests for residents whose addresses were randomly selected. My role as research assistant was to help a team leader by driving to houses, collect materials and tests needed, and organize and distribute forms.

From my many work tasks and experiences, I can say that OSU Extension in Umatilla County exceeded my expectations. From providing hands-on experience in the wood shop to youth to providing educational/medical resources to nearby communities, I am truly blown away. I’ve learned that the Extension Service is not only here to help with the Umatilla County Fair, but it provides so much more than I ever thought.

In the beginning of this internship, I feared that my main tasks would revolve around helping with the 4-H program and I would have very little room to explore my interests of community health and education within the surrounding communities. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and I am glad that these experiences have proved otherwise. With that said, I am disheartened that my internship experience may not be all that I wished it could have been due to COVID-19. When I say that, I am referring to the return of Umatilla County to baseline status, meaning we were restricted to traveling outside our homes only for necessary travel. This prevented Ruben and I from being able to record videos for our STEM Saturday series that we have been working on this entire internship. This is only another roadblock and based on all the opportunities I have encountered; I am determined to make the most of my remaining weeks working remotely.

Stay safe everyone and remember to practice social distancing and wear your mask!

Daniela Valle recently completed an internship in the OSU Extension office in Wasco County.

Since my last blog post, I have been steadily gaining confidence in my skills as an intern during a public health crisis. My first project was to learn about health communications. Communicating effectively with large groups of people is essential, especially when the information you share can save lives. I’ve learned how to make information clear, easy to access, and culturally appropriate. I made a PSA about COVID-19 that was shared in our community and shared with Extension partners statewide. Knowing that social media plays a significant role in health communications, I formatted these PSAs into Facebook and Instagram stories and posts. They’ve been provided to OSU Extension employees for their social media accounts.

COVID-19 PSA

One of the highlights of my days is seeing how the Extension mission is met in the Gorge. Extension is like a bridge that connects communities to abundant resources and knowledge to improve the lives of the youngest children and the oldest adults. I have been amazed to see how my community tackles such a critical health crisis with strong partnerships and cooperation. As I sit in on migrant and seasonal farmworker virtual task force meetings, my peers are a diverse group of health experts, business owners, faith leaders, and volunteers. Although we may all hold different job titles, our desire to serve this community is the same. At the beginning of this journey, I felt underqualified and intimidated by the daunting crisis. Since then, my colleagues have helped me become more comfortable sharing my perspective and engaging in different projects.

Distributing PPE to local growers for their farm workers. PPE is crucial for keeping our farm workers healthy.

My first in-person outreach as an intern was a success. In partnership with the local health departments, I distributed over 500 masks, bandanas, and hand sanitizer for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. That hour was extraordinarily hectic but equally gratifying. It’s true that if you choose a profession you are passionate about, the hard work becomes easy. I was happy to be able to provide these vulnerable populations with the supplies they need to stay safe during the upcoming harvest. As I near the end of my internship, I hope to continue gaining valuable experiences and reflecting on the many lessons I’ve learned so far.

Hood River Valley High School’s academic excellence portrait Class of 2019. My favorite subject has always been science.

My name is Daniela Valle, and I grew up in Hood River, Oregon as the child of migrant farmworkers. The valleys that made up my backyard are peppered with orchards of pear, peach and apple trees. As I grew older, I began to understand the important relationship between my family, the farmland, the community, and the economy. Migrant farmworkers are the backbone of the agricultural industry and in times like these, risk their lives to feed families across America. It seems unjust that such an integral population continues to experience health disparities. These inequalities inspired me to address social injustice by pursuing a career as a nurse. This past May, I completed my first year at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing. I’ve also chosen to pursue a global health minor and a Spanish Language Certificate to further explore my passions. Nursing perfectly combines my love of medicine and my desire to address health inequalities in rural settings.

After receiving my degree, I plan on returning to Oregon and delivering care to underserved populations. As a family medicine nurse practitioner, I will be able to help migrant families achieve better health and lead more prosperous lives. My goal is to not only to treat the physical needs of my patients but also to tackle the broader issues facing these vulnerable families like inadequate nutrition, educational attainment, and limited affordable housing. One day, I hope to write legislation that addresses these intersecting issues and advocates for change.

Visiting Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. during a Close Up High School Program in 2019. I hope to write health care policy one day.

Oregon State University Extension Service has been a formative part of my life. During elementary school, I tried new foods at lunch thanks to the Food Hero program. In high school I attended a chemistry camp at OSU that sparked my interest in STEM, and in my senior year, I was vice president of my school’s Juntos club, an organization meant to empower first-generation families to seek higher education. The relationship between Extension and my community is a strong one, and one that I want to continue to grow.

This summer I’ll be an Extension public health intern in the Wasco County Extension Office, supporting its community health initiatives. During these unprecedented times, I’ll be partnering with other community-based organizations to address ongoing health issues prevalent in the Gorge. On any given day you’ll probably find me distributing PPE, assisting with health communications, or fervently taking notes. However, when I’m not in the “virtual” office, I’m most likely chasing the next waterfall, view, or swimming hole as I explore the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I’d like to thank Wasco County Extension for welcoming me to their team! Be sure to look out for updates on my journey with Extension this summer. Stay safe and healthy!

OSU Extension Internship Program

Tag Archives: Family and Community Health

Creating meaningful work to bring recreation and life to our community

Getting a well-rounded view of Extension in Wallowa County

Internship has given me an extra appreciation for Extension’s impact

Teaching youths and adults about nutrition in the Columbia Gorge

Internship focused on exploring solutions to assist those in need in Jackson County

Understanding the food systems in Klamath County

Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything

Providing hands-on experiences for youth and helping the effort to trace COVID-19

Learning to communicate and collaborate during a pandemic

Home for the summer: My inspiration and my internship

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