This internship with KSRE was an amazing experience working within a community and an office position. I consider this internship to be split into three major parts. The meals program, the office update, and the technology classes.
For my first days I had a goal of working with the summer meals programs to improve numbers. I had initially expected to be personally working with each of these sites as I had done before, but instead doing many activities and demonstrations. However, the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in Garden city had grown and expanded to nearly a dozen different sites serving within three hours. Clearly, this plan would stretch my resources thin, and to start all of these activities within the three weeks left of summer would be difficult. Instead, I turned to focus on outreach and placed posters and helped with FaceBook posts to get word to the people who need it most. In regards to my leadership goal, I was able increase the numbers for the dinner meal program for
My next part is the office update. At the research and extension office, I was cleared to help alongside 4 others with a critical set of updates to the technology of the office. While this project was largely uneventful, it was interesting to me with technology as a hobby since I was a kid. This was an experience which helped me familiarize myself with the office and the faculty working here, and my professional goal was achieved when I was able to gain a very helpful reference for my work in this project.
The third part is the set of classes on technology. I assisted in classes for a group of ladies from nearby Lakin and taught personal technology 1-on-1. The communication skills I used were slightly out of practice. Being a college student, I had grown accustomed to my peers understanding many basic terms in technology. However, not only were many of these students very inexperience with technology terms, but the classes were hosted in Spanish. While my Spanish may be less elegant than my English, I was able to build by communication skills. I was mostly an assistant to Silvia, who was much more experienced in teaching community classes, and I would answer a few questions and assisted with the lessons. However, I was also in charge of teaching a few classes in Excel, which is a large portion of my education in chemical engineering. Many of the ladies took a strong liking to this powerful program, especially the uses it has for many possible careers.
