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Learning the Extension ropes
By Kay Hagen
While many students were having fun in the sun or working at the mall this summer, others were gaining valuable on-the-job experience through internships.
Six Indiana college students participated in Purdue Extension's Assistant Educator Internship Program. Held for the first time since 1982, it's an opportunity for students who are interested in a career in Extension to get a feel for the job.
"One of the main goals of this program is to see how these students perform," says Floyd Branson, assistant director of the program. "It's not only for them to decide whether or not they would like to pursue Extension as a career, but it's also for educators to see how well-suited the students are for it."
The interns' responsibilities varied by county and included such things as helping at the county fair, attending area planning commission meetings, doing field visits with local farmers and attending 4-H camp.
"I learned that I had no idea how much work Extension was," says Beth Moseley, a senior in agricultural education at Purdue, who interned in Boone County . "I've always been interested in the 4-H part of Extension, but I didn't know as much about the ag and CFS (consumer and family science) educators' duties. Now I've got the whole picture. I've always wanted to be an Extension educator; this program just opened my eyes to what needs to be done."
Joining Moseley were Purdue students Amy Stenger in Shelby County, Joan Grott in LaPorte County, Ann Vidt in Lake County, Jessica Dykstra in Warren County and Ball State University student Angela Rosenberger in Delaware County.
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