Ogallala Commons Newsletter: August 2010

Harvesting Season
By Darryl Birkenfeld

Trucks are rumbling down our rural dirt roads and highways these days, hauling in silage and dryland corn—the beginnings of the fall harvest. Following similar patterns, Ogallala Commons has instituted harvesting ceremonies of all our OC Community Interns.

Carolina Balderas from Hereford, TX, poses with her intern medallion after finishing her Harvesting Ceremony during the High Plains RC&D Quarterly Meeting at Mariposa Ecovillage in Amarillo, TX. On the left of the photo is Lydia Villanueva, Carolina’s supervisor, who is Director of Casa del Llano, a nonprofit community organization in Hereford, TX (on the right, Darryl Birkenfeld presented the medallion on behalf of Ogallala Commons).

Things got underway back in late July with Harvesting Ceremonies in our northwest Kansas communities, with additional August ceremonies scattered around Texas. As just as one example, on a Monday (Aug. 9th), I was able to attend two harvesting ceremonies on the same day. It started at 9am at the Swisher County Commissioners Court meeting in Tulia, TX. I listened as Thomas Edwards and Savanna Bragg spoke to the County Commissioners and showed powerpoint presentations of their blog entries…to illustrate all they had done during their 8- weeks of interning. It was a very educational for the Commissioners, and a good accounting for the $2,000 that Swisher County invested in these interns. Later in the evening, I witnessed two Harvesting Ceremonies for interns Larissa Gardner and Michelle Hochstein at the Holy Family Church Parish Council and Finance Council Meeting in Nazareth, TX, attended by 20 people. Holy Family Church and the Knights of Columbus had invested $4,000 in three community interns. Over the past week, I attended two more Ceremonies (see photo captions)

Ethan Pruitt (left) from Whiteface, TX, receives his medallion from OC Director Darryl Birkenfeld, following Ethan’s Harvesting Ceremony during the Playa Management Field Day on Aug. 20^th in Nazareth, TX. Ethan is beginning his freshman year at Texas Tech University as a Natural Resource major. Ethan’s supervisor, NRCS District Conservationist Landon Kerby, also attended the Field Day.

Because they are public presentations, Harvest Ceremonies are a cause for some nervousness and trepidation. How do you put into words and images all that you have been working on for so many weeks…in front of people that you may not know? Though it can feel a bit overwhelming and tedious, harvesting is crucial for gathering up, for giving an accounting, and for savoring and bringing closure. No matter where they have taken place, here are some important things that I see happening at Harvesting Ceremonies:

• Interns offer excellent presentations where they give voice to what was accomplished through their internship, what the community gained, and what the intern learned.

• Interns gain valuable experience in public speaking – a prerequisite to their careers development, and an aspect of being a leader in a community, organization, etc.

• Interns and their supervisors are affirmed for their work by the community, and can answer questions and receive comments from the community.

• Dozens of local citizens and members of intern investing organizations are hearing first-hand accounts of what Community Internships are and how they impact interns and communities.

An additional feature that OC would like to see at Harvesting Ceremonies is the Presentation of the OC Medallion. These round Medallions are made of pewter, with the OC logo in the center circle, surrounded by 18 stars, attached to a green and white cloth band. On the back of the medallion is the inscription: 2010 Ogallala Commons Community Intern. We want all interns to receive this special medallion as a symbol of their growth, accomplishments, and their membership as a “commoner” in Ogallala Commons. Since we didn’t come up with the idea of medallions until mid-July, we will be sending medallions to all interns who didn’t have them at their Harvesting Ceremony.

Intern Reunion Scheduled for 2011

Interns and supervisors, mark your calendars for our Ogallala Commons Community Intern Reunion! This event will take place in Amarillo, Texas on July 24th and 25th. Our OC Intern Program will be in its 5th year in 2011, and we believe it is high time to gather and celebrate all of the unique individuals that have contributed to this program. The ultimate goal of the Intern Program is to create homecoming career development, and the best way to find out if we are accomplishing this goal is to hear from our former and present interns and supervisors, and establish a way to continue communication with them. The Intern Reunion will coincide with the Annual Retreat for the OC Board and Advisors. We promise a fun, enriching couple of days in Amarillo—so please save the dates!

Re-Engaging: Action Steps For Interns and Communities

By Julie Boatright

The wave of activity brought on by thirty-one Ogallala Commons Community Internships is finished and now is the time to shift our energy towards remaining engaged in our communities. There are some simple steps that both former interns and community supervisors can take to encourage re-engagement.

For Interns

Now that your internship is complete you can look back upon the experience to gain insight and grow. Here are a few tips:

• If you haven't finished all of your intern work, take the time this weekend to finish up your blogs, send in your evaluations, and turn in your harvesting folders.
• Reflect, savor, and write in your journal. It is important not to lose all of the valuable experiences from your internship. Ask yourself: What did I gain this summer? Is there anything I see differently because of my experience? Where did I grow? What are some things I need to work on?

• Update your resume. Through your internship you gained new job skills and you should make note of those on your resume! This will be helpful in applying for jobs, scholarships, etc.

• Look for new volunteering opportunities. If you can be active in your hometown – do it! If you are away at college, look for opportunities in your new setting.

For Community Supervisors

Now that Summer Community Internships have finished, the attention of communities wishing to engage youth must shift to finding new ways to keep former and potentially interested youth involved. Over the last few months our community interns gained new skills and knowledge of their communities. It is important to continue to use these new insights into community life and to stay involved throughout the fall, winter and spring. This can be accomplished in many ways:

• Keep in contact with former community interns. Simply send an email, make a quick call or send a note to let your intern know that you are interested in what they are doing.

• Encourage organizations, clubs and businesses can invite former interns to participate in planning events, conducting activities, or as volunteers in the organizational events throughout the year.

It is also important to begin planning for internship candidates and intern duties for next summer. Consider these questions:

• What projects do you have coming up?

• Does your community have needs that could be met by a community intern?

• What jobs/tasks do you have that an intern could complete?

• What kind of intern will you need – high school student, college student, graduate student or an adult in a continuing education program?

Ogallala Commons held a successful Playa Management Field Day on Aug.  20th in Nazareth, TX. The event was attended by 45 people--NRCS  personnel, interested folks, presenters, a couple of interns, and  amazingly:17 landowners! Of those 17 landowners, 14 owned one or more  playas, amounting to a total of nearly 500 acres of playa basins. Those  who attended the Field Day were a diverse and energetic bunch: about 55%  men and 45% women--and they enjoyed learning about playa plants and  grazing options at the Playa Classroom and interpretive trail (photo  taken by intern Clay Wimmer from Abernathy, TX).

Round Two
By Lexi Schwarz

Hi everyone, I’d like to quickly introduce myself, as I am the one that will be maintaining this newsletter for the next several issues. My name is Lexi Schwarz, and I am a sophomore Advertising major at the Univeristy of Nebraska-Lincoln. This past summer, I had the opportunity to be a PR and Communications intern for my hometown, working with local nonprofits, through our Economic Development program. By the end of the internship, I had gained knowledge, and acquired job opportunities that I never would’ve imagined possible.

One of the criteria for the internship was to post a weekly blog on Ogallala Commons’ intern blog site about what I was doing, how I was doing the task, and how the process was coming along. Through doing this, my work caught the attention of other OC supervisors and I was offered another internship that would start in the fall. I jumped at the opportunity, and am now the Media and Public Relations intern for Ogallala Commons.

This position directly relates to what I want to do in the future. Using my writing, communications, and networking skills, all at the same time. Not only am I lucky enough to have a job that works around my messy class schedule and has given me free college credit, not once, but twice!...it's also one I enjoy and can use to expand my resume in the future.