By: Vanessa Beltran
I have been doing many things in my internship. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I go to the senior citizenship place and I lead with exercise. We do things from arm circles to leg lifts. I love going to exercise with them because they talk to me and ask me about my day and how my internship is going. I go to the community garden every day to make sure the plants have enough water for all of this hot weather in Texas!
On Wednesdays, we have a summer library reading program. The summer reading program is something that I enjoy a lot. The day before or two days before we plan all of the things we are doing. We make a fun and healthy snack and we do a super fun craft, read a book or two, and then after we go outside and play a fun game. On some Wednesdays, we also have food distribution. We go to another town and get all of the food we need for our town and we also get provided with already fixed boxes that have everything someone will need. I and some of our other 4-Hers help pass it out around town to the people who can’t get up and get it themselves.
One of the fun things that I got to go to was the sheep, heifer, and steer validation. We went to different houses and helped validate them for when stock show season comes up. I also go to all of the camps. I went to the Caprock County Camp and it was so much fun. A couple of days ago we went to the Roaring Springs camp and it was so much fun another intern and I got to help with the water trailer, then after we went swimming, and had a dance. I also help with office-related things like making the newspaper that goes to everyone, helping with the calendar, and planning future activities we would like to do. I also helped with photography practice and helped all of the kids.
A goal I want to have in communication is to be more verbal with the kids we teach. A goal for leadership is in the community in my school. I want to be able to talk more about 4-H and all of the activities that you can do that can help you later in life. A goal for expanding my professional network is to promote 4-H on my social media platforms and getting to know more people.