{"id":1661,"date":"2025-07-03T16:19:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T23:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/?p=1661"},"modified":"2025-07-03T16:19:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T23:19:32","slug":"osu-extension-intern-returns-to-oregon-with-a-passion-for-natural-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/2025\/07\/03\/osu-extension-intern-returns-to-oregon-with-a-passion-for-natural-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"OSU Extension intern returns to Oregon with a passion for natural resources"},"content":{"rendered":"

My name is Jessalyn, and I am an Oregon State University Extension Service Groundwater
\nProtection intern based in Benton County. I am currently working on my second bachelor\u2019s
\ndegree from Oregon State University, double majoring in soil science and sustainability. I\u2019m
\nexcited to spend my summer engaging with local communities and learning more about
\ngroundwater and public health. I spent the past decade moving around the United States while I
\nwas in the Air Force and am now enjoying being back in Oregon, close to where I grew up in
\nMcMinnville.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"\n
Jessalyn Horton at the Sweet Home Farmer\u2019s Market. Photo: Jessalyn Horton<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

I first got an idea of the role Extension plays in my Soil 101 class this past fall, and thought it
\nsounded like an incredible community resource. I\u2019ve got some teaching experience from my
\nmilitary career, and I\u2019m really interested in the intersection of soil and water. Working with
\nChrissy Lucas-Woodruff, my supervisor here in charge of outreach, is something I knew I wanted
\nto do after she came to speak to a different class I took this past winter, on environmental and
\nagricultural predicaments. I\u2019m very excited to be building on the knowledge I\u2019ve gained during
\nmy studies so far through water testing and education.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m less than a week into this internship, but I\u2019ve already had an opportunity to test water
\nsamples from local well owners for nitrates at the Sweet Home farmer\u2019s market. I had a great
\ntime with Chrissy and my fellow new intern, Taiva \u2014 learning the ropes, engaging with the
\npublic on well and septic maintenance and talking about nitrates and arsenic. We spent the rest
\nof our time during the first week learning about groundwater, wells, septic systems and
\ncommon contaminants. We also got to put together our own lab kits and prepare the gear we\u2019ll
\nuse at other events all summer long, where I\u2019m looking forward to lots more learning and
\nengaging conversation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My name is Jessalyn, and I am an Oregon State University Extension Service Groundwater Protection intern based in Benton County. I am currently working on my second bachelor\u2019s degree from Oregon State University, double majoring in soil science and sustainability. I\u2019m excited to spend my summer engaging with local communities and learning more about groundwater… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14884,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,66,146],"tags":[296],"class_list":["post-1661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ag-and-natural-resources","category-benton-county","category-groundwater-protection","tag-jessalyn-horton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661","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\/14884"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1661"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1663,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661\/revisions\/1663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}