June News (1)

OC Community Intern Orientation 2012

By Julie Hodges, OC Education Coordinator

32 of the Ogallala Commons Interns!

On May 30th and 31st, more than 30 Ogallala Commons Community Interns from Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, along with two dozen intern supervisors, gathered in Amarillo, Texas for an orientation sponsored by the CHS Foundation.

Over the two days, interns learned about Ogallala Commons, the National Farmers
Union, community asset building, grant writing, and how to begin and complete successful internship projects. Ogallala Commons Education Coordinator Julie Hodges gave several presentations on tools and procedures to assist interns. When asked about the event, she remarked, “I always leave any activity with Community Interns feeling inspired by all of the amazing things they are doing in their communities. This group will complete projects that not only add value to themselves on a personal and professional level, but their internships will also contribute great benefits to their communities.”

Ogallala Community Internships are quite different from what most of us think of when
we imagine an internship. Each of the interns will be working in a rural community or urban setting with an organization, non-profit, or small business. The work plan that interns follow is carefully
designed to take full advantage of their skills, talents, and interests--and at the same time to
complete a project or tasks for the organization or community they are working for. In 2012, Community interns range in ages from 15 to nearly 40 years old. Throughout the summer, they will complete around 220 hours of internship work and contribute 10 hours of community service, while being paid an hourly stipend. Interns will chronicle their experiences and post photos on Ogallala Commons' Community Internship Blogs (www.ogallalaintern.blogspot.com - follow the links on the right hand side of the page to see all 6 blogs).

OC Interns left their mark (the OC Logo)
 at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo

Another important aspect of Community Internships is a deeper exploration of the places where interns live. As rural communities throughout the Great Plains region suffer the negative impacts of youth outmigration, Ogallala Commons strives to demonstrate to interns the opportunities and richness in their hometowns– inviting them to consider coming back to live, raise their families and work. To spark their imagination for exploring nearby places, interns and supervisors visited the iconic Cadillac Ranch, on the outskirts of Amarillo--and they finished their first day together with dinner and free time.

On the second day of orientation, everyone rose early to contribute one hour of their required community service--at the High Plains Food Bank Garden in Amarillo.

OC interns helped with harvest, planting, and weeding at the
High Plains Food Bank Garden during Intern Orientation.

The Garden, a multi-year partner in OC's Community Intern Program, grows organic produce which is used to provide over 1,000 meals per day to low-income children in Amarillo as part of the Kids Café Program. Community Interns pulled weeds, harvested peas and planted tomatoes during the early morning. Afterwards, they were given a tour of the High Plains Food Bank. During the remainder of the day, interns received further enrichment through short workshops on personality types, the power of networking, healthy lifestyles, technology tips, and a keynote presentation by William Nelson, President of the CHS Foundation and V.P. of CHS Corporate Citizenship.

Intern Supervisor Profile: Mark Castillo

Darryl Birkenfeld, Director, Ogallala Commons

Like all supervisors in OC Community Intern Program, Mark Castillo wears many hats.  During the week, he is a high school Spanish teacher, tennis coach, and adviser to the National Honor Society and the Student Council in Hart, TX.  Mark has worked at Hart High School for 19 years. On weekends and during the summer, he also clerks at the Naz Stop, a convenience store eleven miles up the road in Nazareth.  A unique feature of Mark’s life is that everyone knows him and he knows the names of nearly everyone in two different towns! 

Mark has been a part of Ogallala Commons youth engagement work from the beginning—when the first Youth Engagement Day was held at Hart H.S. in 2007.  At every event, Mark not only finds the time to attend—he also makes sure to bring students along from his community.  For three consecutive years, Mark has helped to recruit and fund interns.  As a result, 6 Community Internships have been created in Hart, TX, and OC could not have accomplished this feat without the participation, dedication, and supervision provided by Mark Castillo. ¡Muchísimas gracias, Señor Marcos!

Intern Profile: Syndee Adams

Hello! I’m Syndee Adams. This is my [first] blog ever. I was born and raised in Superior, Nebraska. I studied two years at Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Agribusiness before transferring to Kansas State University, where I’m majoring in Agriculture Economics and getting a minor in Animal Science. In my spare time, I love showing and riding horses, and being away from the city life and being back home on the farm.
I’m going to do my internship on Kansas State University campus in Hale Library. I will be collecting databases of the contents of over one hundred boxes that [are] housed at the Capper Co-op Center in the library. These boxes are the remains of records of Farmland Industries. Farmland Industries grain side evolved from the Kansas Farmers Union Jobbing Association. [I will also be] collecting data that shows how the structure of the Co-op changed and evolved from 1907 on.

I have never ever heard of Ogallala Commons before. I have learned that it is a big non-profit organization that provides education and leadership to give a boost to the communities in the region of the High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer.
This information will help me with my Community Internship by providing education to Kansas Farmers Union and the public about how the Co-op developed and how the Farmland Industries evolved from the Kansas Farmers Union Jobbing Association.

I’m excited for this internship to begin and all the information that will be learned and shared about the agriculture industry!
Intern Profile: Kassandra Baker

I [Kassandra] am going to be a senior at Wichita County High school this coming year. I am not sure what I want to do after high school. I have an older sister and two older brothers who have all graduated from college and [are] now living back close to home. I live in a very small town called Marienthal [Kansas]. I have always lived in Marienthal, so I am very used to small towns and plan on moving back after college. Leoti is where I am doing my internship. I will be working with Simone the eco devo [Economic Development] director for Wichita County. She has a lot planned for me: like to work on the Alumni Database [from] 1995 to now. I am working on the Alumni Database so they have it ready because our all school reunion is this year. I will also be doing a fundraiser to help out of Cinema at City Hall. Cinema at City Hall is where we show outdoor movies and everybody brings what they want to sit on and we all watch a great movie outdoors. I also get to organize an Entrepreneurship Day camp. When I first started, I had no idea what Ogallala Commons was, but while going to Texas, I learned what they do and how they help all the little communities. I learned some great stuff we can try to do in our county and learned how to write grants if I would ever have to.

Intern Profile: Samuel ‘Sammy’ Beanes

I [Sammy] am an average guy in a small little town here in Texas. I live in the town [of] Hart, TX, population of about 1,100. Although there are little things to do here, with awesome friends and the right mind there is plenty to do. I am sixteen years old and going to be a junior in high school along with my class of seventeen. I am a member of student council and National Honor Society at my school. I don’t really like writing or reading, but I will do whatever it takes to be successful. I love playing sports and hanging out with all my awesome friends here in Hart. I love to play football, basketball, and tennis, but tennis is probably my top sport, only because I’m pretty good at it. I am doing this internship this summer here in the community of Hart. I plan on making an impact on the people here. I would love to demonstrate to others how important it is to do things for our community and the people in it. I plan on doing my ten hours of community work trying to make the community look like a place to be. I may do some yard and garden work and cleaning anything that I can. I’m also going down to a fertilizer company just outside of town called Wilbur Ellis. I still haven’t heard what I will be doing there but I’m very positive that whatever it is I do there and anywhere else in the community of Hart, TX will be a great and awesome experience for me. J

Intern Profile: Bradley Benavidez
Hi! My name is Bradley Benavidez. I am 17 years old and I will be a senior at Kress High School. I was born and raised in Tulia, Texas. I am very active in my church, 4-H, and school. My internship activities will take place at Tulia Public Schools, Kress Senior Citizens, Swisher Co. Public Library and Tulia Christian Fellowship. I enjoy being outdoors and being involved with wildlife and nature.
I have visited the Ogallala Commons Playa Classroom. Driving through our area, one would not expect that what seems to be a dry lakebed is actually a prairie wetland. At the Playa Classroom, I learned about what the Ogallala Commons’ purpose is and how it works. This goes along well with one of my major 4-H projects, entomology. I was very surprised to find out that the Ogallala Commons covers a very large area from Seguin, Texas all the way to Nebraska. I was also very surprised to learn that some of the previous interns are people that I am well acquainted with. Some ways that I will be able to incorporate the Ogallala Commons into my work is that I will be working in and around the land I love and that is why this was created to preserve the land where we live. I am very excited about getting the opportunity to be a summer intern for the Ogallala Commons and I know that this will make an impact on my life that I know will be amazing.