Sell yourself; Sell the product

It has been over a month since I started my internship with Bayer Crop Science. Since then I have seen more of the state of Illinois than my own back yard, I have ventured out to Raleigh, NC and I have been calf high in mud learning in the field.
  

Bayer Crop Science at Research Triangle Park
in Raleigh, North Carolina

My weeks consist of a lot of driving and meeting with retailers. More importantly, I gather data for field test plots with a product called Stratego YLD. This is a fungicide that helps with test weight and ant for corn at harvest time. My photography skills have been put to work with recording pictures of each field I am in. With all of the rain it has been more difficult to have plots put out at the right time. On corn the cut off to apply Stratego YLD is V5 and the rain made it too wet to get in the field for most growers.

I will be working on gathering information for a tent to be set up for Bayer Crop Science at the Farm Progress show in Decatur, IL. 

I am enjoying the growers and retailers that I have had the opportunity to meet. I met Dr. Powell with Growmark agronomy on a crop injury issue. I've learned more this summer then I would have ever dreamed of. 

I've been working on selling myself to the people I meet daily. Building relationships and putting my best foot forward are the two most important aspects of my job. I am confident that I can successfully accomplish every goal I have for this summer.

Transitioning to Extension

Hello!  I'm Molly Novotney, a junior majoring in Agricultural Leadership Education.  I'm a transfer to the U of I from Joliet Junior College, and my internship this summer is with University of Illinois Extension in LaSalle, Bureau, Marshall, and Putnam Counties.  I'm an intern in 4-H and Youth Development, and I'm very excited to see where this summer takes me.

My project for this summer is to plan, create, facilitate, and evaluate a youth education pilot program.   The pilot program, titled "Growing Futures in Agriculture," will teach 4-H youth, grades 6th-8th, about careers and jobs in agriculture, which will be taught by teen FFA members from local chapters.  This program will serve two purposes, as it will teach and develop 4-H youth more about the field of agriculture, as well as create a better bond between 4-H and FFA.

This has been a very interesting transition for me.  I have spent the last two years during the school year working part-time for my high school Ag teachers and FFA Advisors, and during the summers, I was a crop scout.  To go from jeans, boots, and no make up to khakis being my "dressing down" in the office is a bit of a culture shock.  However, it is a welcome change, and I'm enjoying my time so far!

I'm looking forward to what the summer will bring!

Here Comes the Horse Show

     This Saturday, April 25th the culminating event that I have been planning since January will take place. Part of my project when getting hired onto University of Illinois's Extension office in Champaign included creating Horse SPIN Clubs throughout the county. A second part of that original project was to eventually host a culminating event in the following spring to bring out the accomplishments of my past year. This Saturday, 27 youth will be participating in what will be the first for many of them a Fun Horse Show. 

Riders at Westbrook Stable - Mahomet

     The event will be held at Westbrook Stable in Mahomet, one of the clubs that I got started earlier this fall. There will be 8 events ranging from riding, to leading, to obstacle courses, to relays. All of the leaders from each club have graciously agreed to help plan this and have donated much of their free time by coming together and meeting every month since mid-January.

     This event is giving each of the youth currently enrolled in these Horse SPIN Clubs a chance to show to their friends and families what skills that have learned and been mastering since September. Many kids enrolled in these clubs have had no past horse experience until joining their respective clubs.

     Planning and seeing this event through is one part of my job I have been looking forward to all year long. With horses being my passion it was great to get to come together with amazing leaders that just want to see their kids succeed, and to help make this event something memorable for everyone. The hopes of this show is to become an annual event that will occur for years to come.

     The timing of this event could not come at a more bittersweet time. As my term with University of Illinois Extension winds to a close, this is the last time I will get to see many of the youth and leaders that have helped make my year at Extension an experience to remember.

Winding Down at Extension

     Today I officially went back to being the part time SPIN Club Intern for Champaign county's University of Illinois Extension office. My supervisor has returned from her maternity break and is resuming her position, which I filled in for during her absence.
     The rest of this semester will be fairly laid back for the both of us. My supervisor is preparing to move back to her home state of Wisconsin so she is only back in her position for a month, while I am preparing to graduate and hopefully secure a full time position in a related field. Since we are both preparing ourselves for leaving Extension we have concluded that it is best not to start and new projects that we won't be able to see through, as well as we do not want to overwhelm the impending new SPIN Club Coordinator.
     For the remainder of both of our work terms we have decided to split the load of the SPIN position and work on any tasks together since we have both been dabbling in the same projects now. I am wrapping up starting up two new clubs as well as hosting the Fun Horse Show I have been planning since January that takes place later next month, as well as various other minor projects I have been involved in during my supervisor's absence.
     Temporarily filling in for my supervisor gave me the great opportunity to see what it would be like to have a full time position here at Extension. It was very rewarding and very eye opening for me to see what day to day tasks entail. I was glad I could have been given such a learning experience and will use what I have learned to help myself in my future career path.

Taking Over

     Today marks the completion of my third full week as acting SPIN Coordinator for the University of Illinois Extension office for Champaign County. My supervisor has left for maternity leave and returns to her position at the end of March. I have been preparing for this role since mid August, making sure I knew all the ins and outs of SPIN to make sure I'd be successful once I was on my own.
     The first week of being left to my own devices posed a few challenges that I met head on. So far I had been used to only corresponding with the clubs that I had started myself. Now, I have to correspond with every SPIN Club leader as well as plan with potential new SPIN Club leaders. Keeping every contact straight and ironing out individual club needs was a challenge at first, but I quickly got used to each club, and have set up an organization strategy that helps me keep focused on what needs to be accomplished.
     Along with keeping up with daily tasks as the acting SPIN Coordinator, I also am planning a big spring event for our 3 Horse SPIN Clubs. That planning takes a lot of my time and energy and it has helped teach me that I need to create a balance among all of my projects to make sure each item is getting completed instead of only focusing on the success of one.
     While it has been a challenge to get used to working on my own and having to create my own work, it has also been rewarding. At first, I was very worried that without someone assigning me daily tasks I wouldn't know how to use my time at work. However, I have realized working on every aspect of one position has allowed me the ability to create work to improve or adapt what I have been working on since the summer.

Fall at Champaign Extension Brings the Launching of Horse SPIN Clubs

     This fall at the University of Illinois Extension office for Champaign County kept me very busy working on multiple projects. Fall is a busy time of the year for Extension in general because the new 4-H year starts September 1st, which gets a lot of clubs starting up again.

first club meeting for Golden Riders- Pesotum

first club meeting for Horsery- Mahomet

     This fall my two Horse SPIN Clubs, which were a summer project of mine both started in September. It was great to see all of my hard work from the summer pay off with the start of the clubs. It took major preparation in order to get these clubs successfully off of the ground. Before the first meeting I had to compile risk management plans, organize enrollment forms for members, promote the club to bring in  members, as well as keep in touch with our new leaders to work towards the start of the clubs. I also had to attend the first 2 meetings of both horse clubs to introduce myself, get to know the new members, as well as observe how the leaders interact with the youth, and to collect enrollment information. It was a great success to see how much the kids and leaders loved working together and learning about horses.

Golden Riders club member using grant items

     With the creation of these clubs we were able to apply for a SPIN Grant that would give us $1,000 to buy supplies for our horse clubs to allow our leaders to better teach the kids how to work with horses. Once we got this approved we were able to purchase supplies for grooming kits, as well as riding equipment for one of our move advanced horse clubs. The leaders and members were both equally excited to receive the equipment and get to really learn more about horses. As the clubs keep progressing we look forward to the Spring when we will hold a Fun Show for our 3 Horse SPIN Clubs that will allow all of the clubs to come together for a friendly competition to show off the skills they have learned and acquired during the past year. Planning for the Fun Show with the leaders of these clubs will be beginning soon.

Persistence is Key

I serve as the Student Evaluation Assistant for the University of Illinois Extension. Over the summer of 2014 the 4-H Summer Nutrition Program provided workshops in many counties across Illinois. The workshop purpose was to inform the students about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and to provide tips and methods to ensure a healthy lifestyle for the students. The workshops were instructed by selected teen leaders from the 4-H program. My objective is to collect, analyze and enter the end of program survey evaluations into an online database. Initially I applied for another position through Extension and was turned down. After being interviewed the first time by my current supervisor Dr. Pennie Crinion, I believed  I made a great impression even though I was declined the offer. Persistent with my efforts, I constantly contacted Dr. Crinion about any positions available just to gain experience. A few weeks after being declined, I received an email from Dr. Crinion offering me the Student Evaluation Assistant. The most important lesson I learned during this experience is that persistence is vital and to always remain motivated.