{"id":2131,"date":"2026-08-21T13:33:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/?p=2131"},"modified":"2026-08-21T13:33:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:33:05","slug":"osu-extension-intern-looks-back-on-her-summer-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/2026\/08\/21\/osu-extension-intern-looks-back-on-her-summer-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"OSU Extension intern looks back on her summer experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am officially\u00a0<\/span>approaching the end of<\/span>\u00a0my internship, and as the summer starts to wind down, I would describe the experience as bittersweet. So far, I have worked at 17 events and conducted hundreds of nitrate screenings. My favorite part of these outreach events is getting to greet and interact with community members in each of the towns we visit. Every town and every person\u00a0<\/span>has<\/span>\u00a0a different relationship with their water, and getting to hear those stories has been one of my favorite parts of this internship.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"\"\n
Nakayda smiles with the purchased buckets for the creation of emergency kits. Photo: Colleen Lovdokken<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

This internship has also allowed me to go on side quests into other dimensions of Extension, such as health and small farms. One event that really left an impression on me was working at the Sweet Home Free Farm Stand. This event happens once a month, where the City of Sweet Home purchases food from\u00a0local\u00a0farmers\u00a0and distributes fresh produce to residents for free.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"\"\n
Strawberries at a local Sweet Home farm stand. Photo: Nakayda Jacobs<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

I am\u00a0passionate about food security, and this event showed me that it really is possible for communities to make a difference and take care of both their\u00a0people and their local farmers. It made me feel more hopeful for the future, and it\u00a0never fails to surprise me how there is a nonstop flow of people who show up for free\u00a0and\u00a0healthy produce.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

OSU Extension has taught me the importance of looking at the bigger picture and meeting communities where they are. Whether I was testing someone’s well water, helping distribute emergency preparedness supplies, or handing out fresh produce, I was reminded that the work we do is\u00a0ultimately about\u00a0connecting people with the knowledge and resources they\u00a0may\u00a0need.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As I look toward the end of my internship, I am excited to take everything I have learned with me into whatever comes next. I am looking forward to continuing to grow as a communicator, working with communities, and finding ways to connect people with the natural resources that support them.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am officially\u00a0approaching the end of\u00a0my internship, and as the summer starts to wind down, I would describe the experience as bittersweet. So far, I have worked at 17 events and conducted hundreds of nitrate screenings. My favorite part of these outreach events is getting to greet and interact with community members in each of… 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":[146,315],"tags":[312],"class_list":["post-2131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-groundwater-protection","category-mid-and-southern-willamette-valley","tag-nakayda-jacobs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2131","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=2131"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2136,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2131\/revisions\/2136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/extintern\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}