Summer Internship Program: Rockbridge County

Primary Program Area Focus: 4-H

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

The Rockbridge County internship will provide great exposure to an Extension career, including special projects, programming to meet community needs, and exposure to interdisciplinary programming by the office team. The intern will work under the direction of the 4-H Extension Agent/Unit Coordinator and in partnership with the office’s Family and Consumer Sciences Extension agent, and Agriculture & Natural Resources Extension Agent. The selected candidate will work on planned programs but will also be able to customize the internship to suit their interests and individual needs.

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

We expect the intern to gain an appreciation for and understanding of Virginia Cooperative Extension and the program areas that are served in Rockbridge. As a main component, it is expected that they demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate with both youth and adult clientele. The chosen candidate will be heavily involved in the planning for and delivery of 4-H Camp. They will work on 4-H program planning, implementation, and evaluation. They will also work directly with 4-H clubs to plan, carry out, and evaluate summer meetings. Occasionally, the selected candidate will work with the FCS and ANR agents on specific program-area projects.

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

While the intern will primarily work with the 4-H agent, they will also be working with both the FCS agent and ANR agents on aspects of their programming. The intern’s training and responsibilities will be carried out in a hands-on manner. This is a chance for the intern to be trained by VCE and then educate the community based on this training and under the supervision of Extension staff. The intern will gain an understanding of and appreciation for the role that VCE plays in the community through partnerships and collaboration.