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Internship program assists students By Vera Klinkowsky
Philadelphian Alicia Hampton (left), an intern with the Penn State Cooperative Extension Minority Student Internship Program, reviews 4-H exhibits at the Montgomery County Fair with Dr. Connie Baggett (center), faculty adviser for the internship program and associate professor of agricultural and extension education, and Mary Miller, internship supervisor and youth development/4-H agent with Montgomery County Cooperative Extension. Photos by James Locker Randi Congleton (standing), from Philadelphia, conducts a leadership development training session for young people at the Knowledge Connection in the West Mifflin Housing Project in West Mifflin, Pa. Her internship supervisor, Brack Barr (seated second from left), youth development/4-H agent, participated in the session, which Congleton developed while serving as an intern with the Cooperative Extension Minority Student Internship Program in the Allegheny County Cooperative Extension Office in Pittsburgh.	Penn State student Aileen Rodriguez was brimming with enthusiasm about her summer internship after two weeks.   Her schedule had already included discussing marketing techniques, attending child advocacy meetings and watching the birth of a calf.   Aileen Rodriguez, a public relations and psychology double major, learned as an intern in the Penn State Cooperative Extension Minority Student Internship Program that agriculture is not just cows and crops. She also learned about the important role Cooperative Extension plays in helping make Pennsylvania communities healthy and strong.   “I’ll be honest. At times, I felt like the odd match, since I was ignorant of agriculture,” she said. “I have to say that my perception of agriculture has changed, and I’ve developed a sense of awareness and sensitivity to farm issues. Not to mention the fact that I’ve begun to see the relationship of agriculture to me.”   The 10-week internship program was started in 1992 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture accepted proposed plans that updated the Cooperative Extension civil rights and affirmative action plan. Dr. William Henson, the College of Agricultural Sciences’ former assistant to the dean for minority affairs, served as the first coordinator of the program. One of the goals of the internship program is to introduce minority students who are unaware of Cooperative Extension to career opportunities in conducting non-formal education programs within communities throughout the Commonwealth.   Aileen Rodriguez, who interned at the Centre County Cooperative Extension Office, was one of three students participating in the 3-credit internship program during the summer. Randi Congleton, an agricultural and extension education major, interned at the Allegheny County Cooperative Extension Office, and Alicia Hampton, a human development and family studies major, interned in the Montgomery County Cooperative Extension Office.   Program faculty adviser Dr. Connie Baggett and James Locker, the college’s equal opportunity coordinator and current program coordinator, selected these students from 79 applicants.   As the program coordinator, Locker works with directors of multicultural programs at University Park and at other Penn State locations to identify potential interns. Since the inception of the program, 50 students have interned in every region of the Commonwealth, from rural to urban areas.   With a mission to provide unbiased research-based information that helps individuals, families, businesses and communities throughout Pennsylvania, the interns participate in a well-defined educational program of tasks and professional development experiences that may help the students to consider employment opportunities with Penn State Cooperative Extension, Locker said.   “We want to show minority students who may only relate Cooperative Extension to being production agriculture that extension work can be varied, extremely rewarding and can lead to another career option that they most likely would not have considered,” he added.   Dr. Mary Jo Depp-Nestlerode, interim associate director of Cooperative Extension, noted the interns get firsthand experience in learning how Cooperative Extension helps the communities it serves.   “The opportunities that interns have are to learn from clientele what educational needs they have and then work to develop programs that meet these needs,” she said. “They work with experienced extension educators who are pros at working with individuals and groups in communities to deliver educational programs.”   Martha Gregory, Lebanon County extension agent, said she has seen proof that interns can contribute to the community’s goals. She credits intern Nuria Rodriguez, a counselor education major, for strengthening collaborations between Cooperative Extension and the Migrant Education Program, Housing Authority, Girl Scouts and Salvation Army by using her bilingual skills and Latina heritage.   When Nuria Rodriguez arrived for her internship, she told Gregory: “I’m here to do a good job, fulfill my credit requirements to graduate and get a good grade.”   “With these motivations in mind, the internship made for a reliable and dedicated employee,” Gregory said.   Like Aileen Rodriguez, the internship experience had an impact on Nuria Rodriguez that she did not expect. Her first reaction to learning about the program was “What would an education major get out of an agricultural program?” But looking back to the experience, she said, “It undoubtedly turned out to be the greatest internship experience I could have ever asked for. I gained a tremendous appreciation for the struggles and beauties of the agricultural communities.”   Baggett credits the success of the internship program to the structure of the program, which is open to all undergraduate students with fifth-semester standing or higher and graduate students. Participants are required to submit a plan that includes a résumé, learning objectives and means of keeping in contact with Baggett about the internship’s progress.   At the midpoint of the internship, students must submit a report on their day-to-day activities, how preplanned objectives were implemented and the outcomes, as well as a review of their internship experience. Students finish the internship by submitting a final report that evaluates the overall experience. The intern’s supervisor also submits an evaluation of the student’s work.   The partnership of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Cooperative Extension has led to an internship program that serves the students and Cooperative Extension well, Dr. Michelle S. Rodgers, regional director for the Capital Region of Cooperative Extension and Outreach, said.   “Over the years, this internship has provided an opportunity for students to experience the career option of employment with Penn State Cooperative Extension, while simultaneously enhancing their scholarship and personal development,” Rodgers added. “Extension has benefited through very energetic and creative interns who are conducting educational programs in the local community.” An outreach program of the College of Agricultural Sciences
© 2002 Outreach Communications,   Outreach & Cooperative Extension,   The Pennsylvania State University phone: (814) 865-8108,   fax: (814) 863-2765,   e-mail: outreachnews@outreach.psu.edu