{"id":2021,"date":"2026-07-27T14:16:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/?p=2021"},"modified":"2026-07-27T14:16:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:16:05","slug":"osu-extension-intern-shares-the-path-from-4-h-member-to-mentor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/2026\/07\/27\/osu-extension-intern-shares-the-path-from-4-h-member-to-mentor\/","title":{"rendered":"OSU Extension intern shares the path from 4-H member to mentor"},"content":{"rendered":"

My name is Amaya Slay, and I am excited to spend my summer interning with Oregon State University Extension Service in Douglas County as part of the 4-H program. I am currently a student at Oregon State University\u00a0<\/span>majoring in agricultural and food business\u00a0<\/span>m<\/span>anagemen<\/span>t. I have always enjoyed working with youth and being involved in my community, so this internship is\u00a0<\/span>a great opportunity<\/span>\u00a0to gain hands-on experience while giving back to a program that has had such a positive impact on my life.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"\"\n
2026 Douglas County Cloverbud Camp. The theme was ‘patriotic’ in honor of America’s 250th birthday. They made lots of crafts, made snacks and explored the Master Gardener’s Discovery Garden. Photo: Amaya Slay<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

Over the summer, I hope to learn more about how Oregon State Extension and the 4-H program work behind the scenes to support youth,\u00a0families\u00a0and communities. I am excited to develop professional skills in leadership,\u00a0communication\u00a0and event planning, and I hope to gain a better understanding of the many responsibilities that go into creating meaningful experiences for young people and supporting volunteers. One of the things I am looking forward to most is working with the Douglas County community and getting to know the families, volunteers and youth who make the 4-H program so successful. I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0wait to help with summer activities and events, like the fair, that create memories for youth in the community and help them build their confidence and leadership skills. Being able to contribute to a program that positively\u00a0impacts\u00a0so many young individuals is something that I am looking forward to being a part of.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the future, my career goal is to work in a field where I can continue making a difference in the lives of others, whether through education, youth\u00a0development\u00a0or a related profession. This internship will allow me to explore those interests while gaining valuable real-world experience. Although I am still considering different options for a career path, this has been\u00a0a great opportunity\u00a0to learn more about work in Extension, a career field that I have been interested in. My experience has been great so far and has helped guide me in the right direction for my future career decisions.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My connection with Oregon State Extension began long before this internship. I\u00a0participated\u00a0in 4-H for many years, and those experiences helped shape who I am today. Through 4-H, I developed leadership skills, learned responsibility, built lasting\u00a0friendships\u00a0and gained confidence by trying new things and making connections with so many people within my community. Because of the positive experiences I had as a 4-H member in Douglas County, it is\u00a0very rewarding\u00a0to now be on the other side of the program as an intern in my home county. I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to learning,\u00a0growing\u00a0and helping make this a successful summer for the youth and families of Douglas County.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My name is Amaya Slay, and I am excited to spend my summer interning with Oregon State University Extension Service in Douglas County as part of the 4-H program. I am currently a student at Oregon State University\u00a0majoring in agricultural and food business\u00a0management. I have always enjoyed working with youth and being involved in my… 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":[9,178],"tags":[324],"class_list":["post-2021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-4-h","category-douglas-county","tag-amaya-slay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021","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=2021"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2022,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021\/revisions\/2022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}