June News (2)

Intern Profile: Jill Bergling

Hi everyone! My name is Jill Bergling and I am from the small rural town of Atwood, KS. I was born and raised on a family farm southwest of Atwood, and as a result I help out with wheat harvest and raising cattle. This coming fall I will be a junior at Kansas State University where I am majoring in Family Studies and Human Services with a minor in Leadership Studies. My main project this summer for the internship will be to work with the newly developed dental clinic and develop a medical plan. I will also be working with the already developed food co-op, assisting in the dental clinic, working with the Hospital Capital Campaign, and working with various home town competitiveness activities and projects.Before I came to the orientation I only had a vague idea of what Ogallala Commons was and did, but I didn’t realize how big and involved it was. It was great to see the number of interns wanting to make a difference in their communities. It was neat to see how Ogallala Commons is such a big part in networking which can be such a huge part of future careers. The OC can be such a big stepping stone to later careers in life. One other thing that I found interesting was the fact that the symbol has meaning which ties the whole organization together. All of this knowledge will help me go through the internship now and can also continue to help me later on in life.
Intern Profile: William Brewer
Hello, fellow interns. I’m Will Brewer from Arlington, TX, but for the past four years, Lubbock has functioned as my adopted home. The wide open space and laid back atmosphere of the Llano Estacado stand in stark contrast to the clustered freeways and hurried existence offered to me during my younger years growing up in the Metroplex. Not only is life vastly different here, but so is the manner in which people pursue it. The sense of community has a tangible presence on everyday routine and family is singularly offered up as the most important component of life. Not to say metropolitan areas don’t have many of the same qualities, it’s just rural and small towns offer them in far greater abundance. 

This life lessons component of my education has been central to my education and maturation over the past four years. The curriculum taught in the lecture halls at Texas Tech is the same everywhere in the country, but the lessons taught by the Llano community are unique to this place. It is this component I want to receive more of and it is this quality that exemplifies the Ogallala Commons Community Internship Program.

Intern Profile: Justy Bullington


Born and raised in the Sandhills of Nebraska, I have been lucky enough to experience all that it has to offer. Mullen, Nebraska, is where I call home, and I couldn’t be more thankful for all the opportunites it has given me.

I was very active in my community by being a Girl Scout and earning my Silver and Gold Awards. I also was involved in school activities. I was a three-sport athlete, member of National Honor Society, and held high positions in various extra-curricular activities such as Family Career and Community Leaders of America and Future Farmers of America. I graduated from Mullen High School in the spring of 2011 and began to continue my education at Chadron State College. I am a member of the CSC Cheer squad, an Admissions Ambassador, a member of the Public Relations Club, and hold a 4.0 GPA. I am currently majoring in Communications Arts with an emphasis in Public Relations. I have enjoyed every minute of the college experience. I thoroughly enjoy meeting new people. Chadron State College has the “small town” atmosphere that the Sandhills does, and that’s what really attracted me to the school (getting to drive the beautiful Highway 2 is also a plus). With my major, I plan on working [...] as a Public Relations Representative and working with people. Nothing is more beneficial to me than working for the place I love the most, the Sandhills. This internship gives me the opportunity to get hands-on experience and [makes] me more marketable in the workforce.

Intern Profile: Samantha Carter

Hello! My name is Samantha Carter. I am doing my internship with Ogallala Commons for the Tucumcari Historical Museum. Tucumcari is a small town in New Mexico with a population of just under 5,000 and about 9,000 in the entire Quay County. This is the second internship I have done with the THM, my first one being last year in the summer of 2011. My job as an intern is to catalog and do inventory on all the artifacts and different items in the museum.

Last year was very fun for me, in that I was able to learn so much about the history of Tucumcari and New Mexico. I was able to help set up the system on how to catalog and inventory all the items in the museum as well as several other projects during my time at the museum. Since then, I have stopped in from time to time to help the museum with the technological part of the inventory process since they have continued on after my internship. Last year I was able to get a large amount completed, over 1,500 items which was considerably more than what was expected. I have my work cut out for me this year as they have months of paperwork just waiting to be added to the database system!

Intern Supervisor Profile: Nikki Johnson
Nikki Johnson, member of Ogallala Commons Board of Directors and intern supervisor, got connected with OC in 2007, and that has made all the difference. Her hometown, Campo, Colorado, is a village, but it is a center of OC activity, having a greater impact than many metro areas in Colorado, mainly because of Nikki's ability to call forth and mentor young people, and open doors for them to grow and become empowered as active citizens in their communities. A big reason for this is Nikki’s job as superintendent of schools at the Campo School District (not to mention the countless other ways she stays involved in the community). Nikki works literally night and day to see Campo School and its students thrive. From the local level to the state level, she is a strong voice for Colorado’s small rural schools.
The students and staff at Campo School often joke about who is first in line to talk when she gets back from one meeting and before she heads to the next. In reality though, they all know she will make time to hear from everyone, because her "office of inspiration" is always open! In her “spare” time, Nikki even publishes Campo’s weekly newspaper, the “Monday Morning Update”.

Many thanks, 'Mrs. Nikki'!