Summer Internship Program: Henry/Martinsville

Primary Program Area Focus: 4-H, Jr. MANRRS

1. Describe your plans for this internship.  (i.e. What specifically will the intern be doing?)

This internship located at the Henry County/City of Martinsville unit will provide a great overview of Virginia Cooperative Extension programming, with special focus on 4-H youth development and reaching underserved audiences through the establishment of a Junior Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (Jr. MANRRS) pre-college initiative program. The goal of establishing a Jr. MANRRS chapter in Henry/Martinsville is to encourage students in grades 7–12 to attend college and pursue agriculture, natural resources, and environmental sciences degrees. The Jr. MANRRS program provides activities to help students discover firsthand how agriculture, engineering, and technology relate to the world around them and discover the excitement of academic excellence, leadership, technical development, and teamwork. The intern will work under the direction of the 4-H Extension Agent.

Duties of the intern will include, but are not be limited to:

• Research and lay the groundwork for creating a Jr. MANRRS chapter in Henry/Martinsville using skills learned from college courses and related experiences.

  • Seek community partnerships and adult volunteers to assist in the establishment of a Jr. MANRRS program in Henry/Martinsville

  • Work with underserved audiences and minority youth in middle and high school.

• Junior 4-H Camp – Intern will participate in preparation and planning for the junior 4-H camp week at Skelton 4-H Center.  Intern will be afforded the opportunity to teach a class.

• 4-H Day Camp – These are summer day camps in the Henry/Martinsville 4-H Program and provide new opportunities for youth participants. The camp will be planned, and presented by the intern with guidance from the 4-H agent.

• Family Consumer Sciences programming – The intern will participate and assist the FCS/SNAP Ed agent with an emphasis on nutrition, wellness and food safety/preservation.  Potential programming sites include demonstrations at Farmers Markets and participation in local community sponsored events.

• ANR programming – Intern will shadow field work with the ANR Agent learning public relation skills, the process of problem solving, and relationship building.

• Other – As the internship progresses and new ideas or the intern's interests surface, other projects may be included in the plan of work.

2.  Describe the knowledge / skills you expect the intern to gain from this experience.The intern will work closely with the 4-H Agent, Extension staff, and Community Partners to gain knowledge/skills in:

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• Gain experience working with underserved, underrepresented and diverse audiences

• Enhanced knowledge of Virginia Cooperative Extension programming and the Jr. MANRRS program

• Develop youth behavior management, supervision and leadership skills, as well as gain hands-on instruction experience with youth ages 5-18 (primarily middle and high school students) in various settings

• Build knowledge and confidence in working with youth and adults through community partnerships

• Enhance communication skills, as this position requires a significant amount of verbal and written communication, promotional activities, and face-to-face contacts.

• Enhance decision making and conflict resolution skills

• Gain skills in records management

• Learn the importance of scheduling and efficient use of time and resources for program management

• Learn the value in evaluation procedures of youth programming for future program improvements and record keeping.

Intern will gain skills and knowledge in leadership, teamwork, decision making, planning, organizing, communication, cooperation, speaking to diverse groups, problem solving, interpersonal skills, and creative thinking.

3.  How will the intern learn about the breadth of VCE and our various program areas?

The primary goal of the VCE internship is to ensure that the intern learns about and understands the breath of Virginia Cooperative Extension programming. To ensure the intern in Henry/Martinsville is learning all that VCE has to offer, the intern will participate in monthly staff meetings and attend other important Extension meetings that arise to learn about all components of VCE. The intern will have the opportunity to experience the various delivery modes of Extension programming during their internship. This will be a hands-on internship in which the intern will learn how to research, plan, prepare, implement and evaluate their own 4-H Jr. MANRRS focused youth program. The intern will learn about the history, mission and goals of Extension, as well as the connection between Extension and the two land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University. The intern will primarily work with the 4-H Agent in youth development programs for underserved audiences and minority youth, however he/she will also have the opportunity to participate in related ANR and FNP programs as they arise.