Reflections

 Almost half-way through my eight week journey with UGA Extension in Athens-Clarke County, and I am having a blast. 

When accepting this position I was unsure of what it takes to be part of an extension office, and all the day-to-day responsibilities. I asked those questions during my interview, but being in the office is completely different. I enjoy coming into the office with different tasks being handed to me, and each day is different than the last. 

During my first week, Dr. Ney and Joanna asked me to sort seeds, and I was clueless when they asked me to sort them by cool and warm season. Luckily, they provided me with the information I needed, and told me which ones were cool and warm seasons. Then, I was asked to complete a task of creating a comment card for the garden that is located in the back of the extension office. If Dr. Ney did not provide some examples and guidance I would have been a little lost on how to make a comment card. In other words, I need to improve on my knowledge of different ways to gather information from others such as surveys and comment cards. I also want to improve knowledge about the different responsibilities in extension, and this will come with time and various tasks. 

Furthermore, there are some responsibilities that have been right up my alley such as creating a social media strategy for the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department's Instagram and Marigold Market's Instagram. I have the skills to create the strategy in Canva, and I have experience running my own social media to know the basics of how many times to post and what to post on your story. In addition, I have customer service skills that I use while at Marigold Market on Saturdays when I help sell produce. 

In addition, continuing to intern with the office with Dr. Ney and Joanna will help me grow my knowledge on the different responsibilities it takes to run an extension office. Also, working Saturdays at Marigold Market with Sherrie will benefit me in gaining knowledge about the different farmers and vendors, and how to run a successful farmers market. 

I am grateful for this opportunity, and I only plan to grow from the experiences that I am given.

Here is a short clip of all the seeds that I sorted during my first week!