During my internship I worked at the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension office for several weeks, LTS Ventures for one week, and Quien Sabe Feeders for one week. Each host business was amazing and treated me with the utmost respect and taught me countless lessons that can only be taught in real world application. One of my favorite points in my internship was with the extension office I was able to help with the District 2 4-H Junior Leadership Lab at South Plains College. In this I had the pleasure of helping with the robotics demonstration, and teach the students all about how to use a robot and coding. This really helped me get out of my comfort zone and teach an age group of kids that I don’t plan on teaching and about a subject I know little to nothing about. Another high point in my internship was the last week I was allowed to have at the Quien Sabe Feedlot and learning all of the specifics in the commercial cattle world. I learned so much from the people at Quien Sabe that I could talk to someone all day and night about my experiences there. The most important thing that was taught to me at the feedlot was that work isn’t hard to come by, but finding a hard worker who is willing to work is hard to find. After being told this, I’ve been trying to be that person that is hard to find and is a hard worker for any company.
I set three different goals at the beginning of my internship for the summer being: Learn something new about a member of the extension office every week, host a showmanship clinic for all the youth in Swisher County, and meet at least 15 ag teachers and County Extension Agents combined and ask them why they enjoy their job. These were a communication, leadership, and networking goals respectively. I accomplished and was not successful in all three of these goals, for my communication goal I was in the extension office for five weeks and learned a new fact almost every week, for instance, I learned that John Villaba used to be on the Texas Tech Meats Judging team. With my leadership goal I did not have the opportunity to host a showmanship clinic during my internship, but would still be open to do so in the upcoming semester. My last and most challing goal with my betworking goal I was able to attend VATAT which is the Texas Ag Teachers Conference that is held every year, I had the chance to meet multiple ag teachers and help me decide where I plan to student teach.
