Family and Community Health « OSU Extension Internship Program

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

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

Contact Info