August 11, 2005

LINCOLN, Neb. � Several University of Nebraska-Lincoln students got a first-hand look this summer at the inner workings of a UNL Extension office.

From helping plan an educational program on wheat to working at the county fair, UNL Extension summer interns learned what extension does for a community.

"I wanted to get a good feel of what goes on in extension besides the county fair and see the other programs they work on," said Darci McGee, extension intern in Gage County and a UNL animal science graduate student. "I got a well-rounded experience (this summer) and got to see what extension educators do to help their clientele on a daily basis."

In its sixth year, the UNL Extension internship program starts in mid-May and continues for 12 weeks. The paid internship program is open to undergraduate students completing their sophomore or junior year and to graduate students. Interns are located and supervised in a county UNL Extension office.

"The internship program allows students to learn more about a career with UNL Extension and understand the leadership role of extension faculty," said Elbert Dickey, dean and director of UNL Extension. "It's a great summer job because the students gain experience living and working in a new part of Nebraska while adding valuable work experience to their resumes."

McGee's supervisor in Gage County, Paul Hay, UNL extension educator, said the internship program is a great opportunity for young people to take a look at extension as a career and other careers that help serve people.

"It's an opportunity to get out and identify the needs of people and a community regardless of what career they're going into," Hay said. "They get a good experience and find a little bit about themselves."

McGee said she was able to help with several educational programs, including a cattle clinic and wheat program, and prepared news releases and radio spots among other projects.

The Fairbury native graduated from UNL in May with a bachelor's degree in animal science, and is thinking of pursuing a career in extension education after she receives her master's degree.

"Extension educators work on a lot of different programs that you wouldn't even think they do, such as the juvenile diversion program," she said. "Then, they also are responsible for the county fair � getting all the materials ready for checking in livestock and exhibits. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that nobody thinks about."

McGee said she's learned a lot about agriculture and how extension plays an important role in helping farmers with certain practices without costing them a lot of money.

"Just getting to interact with various people has been the most enjoyable," McGee said. "The staff in the office and interacting with people in the county and kids at camp ... everyone is so enthusiastic and you have a great time. It expands the network of people that you know."

Hay said, "The interns allow us to get to do things that we wouldn't be able to get done. Hopefully we've given her a good experience to go from, and from there she'll make good decisions about her future."

While students learn valuable skills, the most obvious benefit to the extension educators is the added hands, said Andy Christiansen, UNL extension educator and intern Krystle Christner's supervisor in Hamilton County.

"While they are gaining experience, they are giving us another perspective on things and helping us to do more things," Christiansen said. "It's pretty important to have this program."

Christner, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in agricultural business from the University of Wyoming this year, will be pursuing her master's degree this fall at UNL in leadership education.

The Hamlet native did a similar program for UW last year and decided she wanted to gain added extension experience in Nebraska.

"I wanted to explore more in the agricultural sector of extension because that is my specialization," she said. Christner also hopes to return to extension after earning her degree.

"It's a great opportunity to make connections as well as learn a little more about yourself as well as the field in Nebraska and how extension works," she said. "Just from working in Wyoming and now in Nebraska, there is definitely a difference."

Some of the things Christner was able to work with included soil moisture sensors and evapotranspiration gauges, 4-H, quality assurance training for livestock exhibitors, a sewing camp and scouting field plots for soybean rust.

"Every day is different," she said. "It's a great program."

Keith Glewen, UNL extension educator, said the intern program provides a good opportunity for students to understand the university outside the classroom.

"There is always plenty of work to do in an extension office," Glewen said. "The UNL Extension internship program provides us a resource to support extension programming and provides the students the understanding of the true workings of an extension office."

Andy Labenz, extension intern in Saunders County who Glewen supervised, said he wanted to learn more about what extension does for a county and for the state.

Labenz is a senior at UNL majoring in business administration. The Newman Grove native said he learned how to put together educational programs for 4-H youth and also helped put together an all-terrain vehicle safety training program. He also helped at the county fair, with a livestock association tour and the evaluation of UNL Extension Crop Diagnostic Clinics.

"I learned a lot about communications skills and working with the public. That has been a key thing," Labenz said.

For more information or an application for the UNL Extension internship program, visit the Web at Extension jobs.

8/11/05-SAK

Contacts:

Andrew P. Christiansen
South Central District (Hamilton County)
Extension Educator
(402) 694-6174

Elbert Dickey - Ph.D.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension
Dean and Director
(402) 472-2966

Keith Glewen
UNL Extension
Extension Educator
(800) 529-8030

Keith Niemann
Extension
Director of Human Resources
(402)472-1577

Paul C. Hay
Cooperative Extension Southeast District (Gage)
Extension Educator
(402) 223-1384

Sandi Alswager Karstens
IANR News Service
(402) 472-3030

Department:
Cooperative Extension