A Body in Motion Staying in Motion

Office of Diversity: Xavia Gantz

The past few weeks have been extremely eventful, as to be expected. I'm loving every single day of the work that I do because no day is the same as the other! I've been keeping a log of every thing that I do and as I reflect on it to write this blog I've realized just how much I can see a future for myself in Extension. 

In the past few weeks I've been a little bit if everywhere and I continue to broaden my horizons on everything Extension has I offer with every step I take further into my internship and it's absolutely wonderful. 

I played a major role in the organization and facilitation of the Kentucky Youth Seminar. I worked very closely with Ms. Karen Pulliam with the development of excel spread sheets to keep record of registration, room assignments, and county information in addition to the creation of name tags for both students, adult counselors,  and guest speakers. I also put together the notebook where we filed all documentation of registration, insurance, room assignments, reservations, and meal arrangements. 

The Kentucky Youth Seminar is a very impressive event. The scholars were all very personable well behaved kids. I assisted in check in at the dorms in addition to being present at every event. There were case studies, contests, tours, and workshops. I helped judge Project Runway and I had a blast! The kids were hilarious and really let their personalities shine through their work. I don't think there was an intern, adult, or scholar that didn't shed a tear from laughing so hard. I was amazed with what the kids came up with.

And of course I had to get a shot of Dr. Williamson ripping the runway! 

The final breakfast/ closing ceremony was a very nice one. The scholarships were awarded and the students selected to attend NICE Conference were selected. 

Additionally Dr. Tyler presented Dr. Williamson with a award of appreciation for excellent service throughout his years with the program. It was most certainly a tear jerking moment as this moment marked the end of Dr. Williamson's career. 

The week after the seminar I took off to Christian County to serve as an adult counselor for 4H Camp. Prior to this I had never been camping so I was excited to embark on this journey. Camp was nothing short Ida developmental experience for me. With it being something so different from anything I had ever done I had to learn how to adapt to the wilderness quickly and quietly! The first day was definitely a culture who I for me, but after I got over the bath house and the no AC living conditions I was fine! I really enjoyed all of my girls both in my cabin and in my cheerleading workshops. It was amazing to get to know them and hear about the things that interest them and all the years that they've attended 4H Camp and grown through it. I was lucky to have a group of such well behaved spunky girls in my cabin!

The kids did many activities all day long such as play doggem ball, swim, and listen to camp stories in the singing area. 

One of my favorite events was Sally Down the Alley. It just made my heart melt how adorable the kids were.. Watching the little boys congregate with their friends before festering up the bravery to approach the girl they wanted to Sally with. Made me proud to see chivalry come from such a young age group. 

Everyday I taught three 50 minute cheer leading workshops with my lovely Counselor In Training, Taylor McKnight. She was amazing. Together her and I choreographed a cheer, fight song dance, side line chant, and jump sequence to teach the girls over the three day period. I had a total of about 40 girls enroll into the workshop so we had enough to make formations and teach a transition so we had fun with that aspect as well. The girls did EXTREMELY well and were absolutely exceptional, even the girls who never cheered before. They even told me I should open up my own gym which made me feel very good about myself. It was awesome to seem them make sure major progress in only a mere three days! 

Taylor & I

The girls performing the cheer!

Silly faces during a water break with my cheer girls!

Breanna, myself, and Tamra. Both were in my cabin and my workshop!

Above is a picture of all my Silver Solids after they won the spirit stick! They worked hard for two days on the spirit routine that I helped them put together and really performed their little hearts out when their time came! I was SO proud of them and they were so excited when they won! 

Last, but most certainly not least I must share the experience I had with an amazing camper that helped me partially overcome my pathological fear of bugs. Mr. Jacob Grimes in the pictures above is a child with Aspergers Autism. This child is one of the most hilarious and intellectual characters you will ever meet. He told Ms. Francine and myself (and anyone else who wanted to know) about his condition and was so at peace with it. He was a very articulate individual and he was definitely wise beyond his years. While sitting in the field during the Wet N Wild Games a dragonfly landed on me and I began to swat it away frantically and Mr. Jacob assured me that the dragonfly was nothing to be afraid of. He explained to Francine and I how he was afraid of bugs before taking Mr. Kelley's (Christian County Horticulture Agent) class, but after learning a little about bugs he realized that they're more afraid of us than we are of them and that I shouldn't be afraid because dragonflies cannot bite. The dragonfly continued to fly from myself to Jacob and sat with us three as we conversed for nearly and hour. It's just so amazing to see sometimes how you can learn from the kids just as much as they learn from you. He made Ms. Francine cry when he stated "It's not about the things you go through in life, it's the people beside you that support you and help you through the hard times". What an individual.

I'm growing to LOVE Extension! And everyday I'm reminded how very blessed I am to have been granted such an opportunity! See you in two weeks!