Week Four with Extension by Emily Stamper

Jersey calves

There is never a dull moment in this internship. On Tuesday we weighed cows and sheep at WMREC. It started off with fixing some panels because a sheep got through and then we lost the mounting piece for the scale weight display. We knew it was just going to be one of those days. After we finally got all the cows and sheep weighed, Jeff and I went to weigh our Jersey calves. We had missed a few the last time so we decided to weigh all the calves, even if we thought they were bought. The calves thought that it was a good day to be dramatic and we struggled to get some in the scale. One of the biggest calves decided to lay down in the scale and it took Jeff and I about 10 minutes to get it to stand up. 

Amanda, Cheyenne, Cole, and Mark getting ready to weigh animals

Wednesday the interns headed down to College Park for our campus tour. This was such a great experience. Wednesday was focused on leadership training and teamwork. We did some activities in our sessions and then headed to dinner together. It was great to unwind and connect with all the interns. We thought that the day was going to be the most entertaining, but it turned out to be the evening that was full of laughter. After dinner we had the idea to go to Target and grab games and snacks and hangout. It was raining and Alison’s wipers were, let's just say struggling, so we bought new ones in Target. We used the skills we learned earlier that day to replace the wipers, which took some time because they were old and stuck. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and played some games in Ellie’s room.

Dan and I working together to replace wipers

On Thursday, we got to see more of what professionals are doing at UMD and how they work with Extension. We saw an aquaponics lab, stormwater management, the greenhouse, plant diagnostics lab and ag law and policy. We also had a mixer and got to connect with faculty and staff. After we toured the campus farm, Cheyenne and I rushed home to Clear Spring to a Pasture Walk. It was a busy couple of days, but Friday was an easy day of data entry.

The time we spent on campus together was so informative and beneficial. I got to know some of the interns a little bit better and just enjoyed our time there. The leadership and teamwork sessions were great bits of info that I am able to apply to my career and life. We even got to see it play out that evening when we were changing the wipers. It is so neat to hear what each of the interns are working on because everyone is working on something completely different. Even though we are all under the same program, it just shows how diverse Extension really is.