{"id":1604,"date":"2024-09-16T13:59:20","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T20:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/?p=1604"},"modified":"2024-09-16T13:59:20","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T20:59:20","slug":"extension-intern-reflects-on-learning-and-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/2024\/09\/16\/extension-intern-reflects-on-learning-and-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Extension intern reflects on learning and growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was very excited to start at the Oregon State University Extension office in Polk County, and that excitement has continued through the few months that I\u2019ve worked here. I was excited for the chance to be creative, the chance to use the knowledge I had gained over the last year at Chemeketa Community College and excited to learn new things.<\/p>\n

\n \"Matthew\n
Matthew Mankins at a canning workshop. Photo: Brooke Edmunds<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

I had many great experiences this summer and learned a lot along the way. The main projects I worked on included: Creating a proposal for a garden to go behind the Dallas office, teaching a class on soils, working with the Master Gardeners at public events and at the Inspiration Garden and traveling to learn about various projects Extension is involved with.<\/p>\n

I especially enjoyed the open house at the Polk County Extension office because I had the chance to hear more about the different projects that are being done. Plus, it was a pleasure to see such a supportive positive group of people.<\/p>\n

One challenge I had was to do a soils class. I have done classes for children at summer camps, but never a class for adults and never over such a complex topic as soils. It was hard to determine how long it would take to cover the material while giving time for a break and questions or other unexpected things.<\/p>\n

The class was on September 14, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Dallas office and we had over 15 people attend. We did a jar test for soil texture. I gave an overview of topics about soils and nutrients. I then talked about how to get a soil test and showed the results of a test I had done for the future office garden area. I then showed how to calculate the number of amendments needed for a soil test. Finally, I covered different types of amendments and their pros and cons. I think people of different knowledge levels were able to get something from the class.<\/p>\n

My main takeaway from the class was to adjust the class for the general public. I created my class with Master Gardeners in mind. However, the general public doesn’t necessarily have the background knowledge to follow some information. In the future if I do any math or talk about pH, I will give more basic information to prepare the audience for these topics.<\/p>\n

There were many important takeaways from this interesting experience. One is to just try doing something even if you aren\u2019t exactly sure how to go about it. In a positive supportive work environment where people are allowed to learn and grow, the entire team is stronger as a result of this culture. This allows the organization to produce the best results.\u00a0 The support I felt from the office staff made trying things like teaching a class much easier. As I look for employment, I will look for a place that gives the type of support I felt at the Extension office in Polk County.<\/p>\n

-Matthew Mankins<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was very excited to start at the Oregon State University Extension office in Polk County, and that excitement has continued through the few months that I\u2019ve worked here. I was excited for the chance to be creative, the chance to use the knowledge I had gained over the last year at Chemeketa Community College… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14410,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,64],"tags":[42,291],"class_list":["post-1604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-master-gardener","category-polk-county","tag-master-gardener","tag-polk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14410"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1605,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1604\/revisions\/1605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}