Summer Internship Program: Carroll County

Primary Program Area Focus: 4-H, ANR, and FCS

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

Carroll County Virginia Cooperative Extension is seeking a highly energetic and motivated intern to support the programming needs of the Carroll VCE office. The intern will work within the agriculture/commercial horticulture and 4-H program areas. The intern will be expected to participate in the planning and implementation of summer programming. They will work in both the office and field settings to assist the agents in their daily activities, including, but not limited to: 

Agriculture: 

• Accompany the agent on farm and home visits 

• Participate in the planning of the Carroll-Grayson Cattle Producers Field Day 

• Conduct forage sampling 

• Assist with Carroll Beekeepers hive inspections 

• Assist with the Virginia Quality Assurance/ Mountain Momma Programs 

• Assist with the Well-Water Testing Clinic 

Commercial Horticulture:

• Assist with the management of pumpkin variety trials

• Field scouting/participating in on-farm research projects 

• Writing articles for the SWVA Commercial Horticulture newsletter 

• Creating fresh produce food safety educational resources 

• Assist with the Southwest Virginia Tree Fruit Meeting and Orchard Tour

• Accompany the agent on farm visits

• Assist with the Youth Pumpkin Project 

4-H: 

• Plan one 3-hour workshop for youth 

• Attend 4-H camp 

• Support the Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) 

• Assist with 2 teen programs 

• Contribute ideas for the Ag Education Days field trip 

All Program Areas:

• Create advertisements for Carroll County VCE programs 

• Assist in daily office tasks as they arise 

• Attend agent in-services/program specific trainings and organizational board meetings

   

2. Describe the knowledge / skills you expect the intern to gain from this experience.

Participating in this internship will allow the intern to gain an understanding of Virginia Cooperative Extension and provide them with experience in VCE program design, marketing, and implementation. The intern will work with youth and adult clients. They will gain subject matter knowledge in crop and livestock production, insect/plant/disease identification, and positive youth development strategies. The intern will also gain the following skills: 

• Teamwork 

• Organization 

• Time management 

• Self-discipline 

• Oral and written communication skills 

• Customer service and public relations 

• Event planning 

• Needs assessment 

• Problem solving 

• Volunteer management 

   

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

Over the course of the internship, the intern will have the opportunity to work with all three agents in the Carroll County VCE Office – Agriculture and Natural Resources, Commercial Horticulture, and 4-H. The intern will participate in the same activities as the county agents, which will allow the intern many opportunities to interact with agents and staff from all program areas within Virginia Cooperative Extension. This will include participation in applicable professional development opportunities and meetings with other VCE/Virginia Tech faculty members. The intern will learn how VCE prioritizes an interdisciplinary approach to meet community needs.