Ogallala Commons Newsletter: June (Issue 2)

Color Us Blue (as in Caring)!
Fr. Ken Keller, OC Intern Supervisor

As an overall group, the 2011 Ogallala Commons Community Interns are compassionate! At least that is what a summary of the “Colors Test” indicated when the individual results were tabulated together as a group.

Recall from your Intern Orientation a few weeks ago, that a Personality Quiz called “True Colors” was taken by the Interns and 22 returned their results for a collective look at their “intern-ablity”. In this particular personality assessment tool, those whose primary color is Blue are compassionate, while Oranges are courageous, Greens are conceptual, and Golds are detail-oriented.

Not enough information came in to attempt to answer fully the question “What personality type is most common in a Community Intern?” However, 2011 Interns whose primary personality color is Blue are more noticeable (37% in the group rank it as their primary color), while the group’s other three personality colors are equally placed at 21% each. Nationally, when one looks at an average for all groups, each color shows up at a 25% occurrence in a group.

When one looks at the collective results, from intern’s most-to-least ranking of colors, one can picture a “bell curve” type of perspective on color. Thus, for the highest color – Blue -- 9 rank it first while 5 rank it last. For the lowest color – Gold – 5 rank it first while 8 rank it least. Green and Orange seem to be the balancing factors for our group.

However, the True Colors test helps interns not only by understanding their strengths, but also their weaknesses. When consideration is give to the last place ranking of a color, 36 percent of our 2011 Interns listed Gold as their least color. This can indicate that our interns are not as “practical”, “managerial”, or “detail- oriented” as the average group of persons.

In summary, here are some generalizations about our 2011 Interns as a group (not each individual). They are caring with a strong desire to make a contribution to society and help others. They are enthusiastic, communicative, and sympathetic.

A side of their “group personality” that might be worked on more during their internships would be: maintaining a schedule, doing more organizing, and making efforts to leave their community or organization in August with more established and practical solutions. Thus, the True Colors Personality Assessment gives us another level of insight into the gifts offered and the challenges faced by Community Interns.


Learning About Natural Resources...Attend Field Days
Across the Great Plains region, interns, supervisors, and interested citizens can learn more about our natural resources by attending a Field Day. Throughout this summer, on any given week or weekend, an agency or group of organizations is conducting some sort of Field Day. These events usually occur in the morning and end with lunch. It's a great opportunity to get outdoors and learn about wildlife, plants, water, and soils in a hands-on way, with the instruction of local experts. Remember, stewarding natural resources is one of the key skills for a Community Intern, and attending a Field Day may be your best chance to engage in this work. Upland Field Day at Dimmitt Unit of the Playa Lakes WMA in Castro County on Saturday, June 25th from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Down in the Texas Panhandle, there are two Field Days coming up. There will be an Upland Field Day at the Dimmitt Unit of the Playa Lakes WMA, 4 miles west of Dimmitt, TX in Castro County on Saturday, June 25th from 9:00 a.m. to noon. This event is free and everyone is invited, but they would like folks to RSVP (in order to have plenty of bottled water and information packets on hand that day). We would love to have as many hunters, landowners, and youth as possible (boys and girls…the future of land and wildlife in our states). Another outdoor event will be held on Saturday, July 9th, with a Playa Field Tour at the Playa Classroom in Nazareth, TX from 8:30am-11am. You can learn about amphibians, playa plants, birds, and soils at this gathering. When it is over, you can attend the Nazareth German Festival, and enjoy a delicious German sausage dinner for $10 per person. If you are interested in either Field Day, please contact Darryl Birkenfeld (806-945-2255).


Intern Profile: Karen Bone
Hi all,
I am originally from South Texas, went to Sam Houston State University in East Texas, and currently live and work in West Texas. All this moving has made me appreciate the diversity and size of our state, and I like to joke that I have lived in 3 different states since the regions all have their own particular personality and the distance between them is so large. It takes me a good eight hours to visit where I grew up. In my spare time I read a lot of nonfiction, run a discussion group called Feminist of Lubbock, hike and bike with my partner, and play fetch with my extremely energetic two year old lab.

For my internship I am currently working at Sherry Pullen’s organic farm and, later in the summer, I will be teaching kids a little about food and nutrition. So far I’ve learned about picking vegetables, hoeing, laying down mulch, making organic pesticides, and maintaining moisture in the garden. I’m looking forward to learning more about butchering chickens, planting, putting the implements on the tractor and driving it, and picking fruit in the orchard, to name a few. It’s been interesting because while we have a rough work plan in place, so much of the work is dictated by the weather conditions and nature in general. My favorite activity thus far has been picking the vegetables, especially the root ones like beets, radishes, and onions.


Intern Profile: Savanna Bragg
Hey! I’m Savanna Bragg. I am 17 years old, and just recently graduated from Tulia High School this May. In the fall I will attend the University of North Texas in Denton in pursuit of a minor in Photojournalism and my degree in Public Relations or Marketing. I am passionate about photography, I actually own my own photography business, SavannaBPhotography. You can check out my website at savannabragg.smugmug.com. My other interests include running cross country, working out, motocross, journalism, traveling, and meeting new people. I am a very social person, and an entrepreneur, but I am probably also one of the biggest procrastinators you will ever meet.

This summer I am interning under Patsy Hooten, who is the owner and editor of the Swisher County News. Most of my internship will be working here at the newspaper office, but I will also be working with the high school cross country team. I will be helping with the Jr. High and High School Cross Country training/camps throughout the summer. I have been part of the student newspaper, The Sting, for two years now. This past school year I was student editor, which led me to being interested in fulfilling my internship at the newspaper office. Throughout the internship I will be writing weekly articles, taking photos, editing articles, and putting the newspaper together on Adobe InDesign. Last year was my first year to work for Ogallala Commons, and I am very thankful for the opportunity to be an intern this year as well. I am a bit of a city girl, but my internships have drawn me to appreciate the rural community assets.


Intern Profile: Samantha Carter
My name is Samantha Carter. I am a transplant here in Tucumcari, New Mexico. I moved here about two years ago and I plan on being here at least one more year. Currently, I am a student at Mesaland’s Community College and am doing an internship at the Tucumcari, Historical Museum for nine weeks of this summer.

During my internship at the museum I will be getting the chance to catalog as many of the items in the museum that I can get done. First I had to help design a system in order to catalog all the different artifacts properly without doubling up on the items, confusing the numbering system, or losing any of the important information that is part of the history of all the artifacts.

The Museum is a great place to intern at. I am really enjoying all the people that come in and the different stories I am privileged to hear. The other day I met a military boy who was traveling through New Mexico on his temporary leave because his best friend in the Army always told him about how great New Mexico really is. His friend died tragically in the military tank right in front of his vehicle during their last mission. The boy who died had no family so his friend had brought the remains of his things to the museum to donate in his memory. The boy’s boots, knife, and military papers were all that there was to show he even existed and gave all he had for this country. It was heartwarming and heart breaking all in the same emotion. I am truly lucky to have this experience.