What do 4-H interns even do?

     

I always told people in my years of being a teen in 4-H that 4-H was my family. It was my home away from home with people who just "get me." Being a UK Cooperative Extension Services 4-H intern is no different. In the past years, I've worked with agents across the state as a State Teen Council Member and a State 4-H Officer. Now, however, I work even closer with them as an intern. It's a whole new world to adapt to, but I'm loving every minute of it. 

Day camp started out my journey as an intern. From teaching Professor Popcorn to leading camp songs to participating in hula hoop competitions, it was a fun filled, but exhausting week. Other highlights of my summer as an intern so far include teen counselor training for 4-H Camp, adult counselor training for 4-H Camp, District Communications Day for half of District 1, Teen Conference, and of course, planning for my intern project. All summer long I've been asked, "What do 4-H interns even do?" If only they knew!

A lot of people wonder what a "Civil Engineering Technology/Construction Management" student is doing in a 4-H internship. 4-H has been a vital part of my life in the last few years. I've experienced 4-H as a teen, a State Officer, and an adult volunteer. Those experiences were great, but I never got to quite learn what it was like to be a 4-H agent. This summer is my chance to do that! 

Science Engineering Technology (SET) careers are incredibly interesting to me. After all, that's the category that my major falls under. It only made sense for me to incorporate SET into my internship project. After retrieving Martin County's profile and working with local sources, I was able to obtain Lego EV3 Mindstorm robots and Lego obstacle courses to run the robots on. I'm incredibly excited to partner with Lawrence County to teach our youth how to not only assemble these robots, but to program them and lead them along obstacles. I hope to emphasize how rapidly SET careers are growing and how SET can be fun! 



I can't believe I'm halfway through my internship. This summer has been amazing so far and we have so much ahead. Only 9 days until 4-H Camp! 

-Bre Howell
 Martin County UK CES 4-H Intern