July News (2)

Spreading the Word on Successful Tools 
Darryl Birkenfeld, Director, Ogallala Commons

Jeff Reid from the WTAMU Enterprise Center
presents on a financial projection model

Ogallala Commons put its Youth Engagement Programs in full display last week at two events.  On July 11^th, Julie Hodges moderated a panel entitled, “Engaging Youth – Securing the Future,” at the Texas Economic Development Council Summer Meeting at The Overton Hotel in Lubbock, TX.  Julie introduced OC’s programs, and found ways to involve OC Community Interns Rebecca Hopp, Masi Mejia, and Will Brewer, as well as a Youth E-Fair 1^st prize winner, Kristen True from Plainview, TX.

On July 12^th, OC co-presented a Training on Youth Engagement & Youth Entrepreneurship in conjunction with the WTAMU Enterprise Center from 9am-4pm at the Enterprise Center in Amarillo, TX. We were pleased to have 20 participants at the event, including Chris Sramek from Atwood, KS, and OC Board Member Bobby Gierisch from Austin, TX, as well as high school and college educators from New Mexico and Texas.  OC is gearing up to conduct 5 Youth Engagement Days in Texas, Colorado, and Kansas this fall. 

Supervisor Spotlight: Wilson, Texas (Justin McKibben and Shawna Jones)

Justin McKibben – Justin wears several hats around Wilson ISD. He currently holds the position of IT Director overseeing and purchasing new technology for a recent $1.5 million dollar grant, with another $2 million over 2 more years. He is also a certified Texas peace officer and is the School Resource Officer for the district. Justin is also the Youth Director for First Baptist Church of Wilson. Justin is currently married with 1 kid (an English Bulldog named Macie).

Shawna Jones – Shawna also works for Wilson ISD and is the Community in Schools liaison. She spends her time helping students and the community with daily issues and needs. She holds a regular “girls group” with teenage girls to talk about the issues in their lives. Shawna loves to travel the world and experience new cultures. Shawna is spending a month this year in Panama.

Intern Profile: Tristen Huseman

My name is Tristen Huseman.  I was raised in Nazareth, Texas until I was five years old.  This is when my family moved to Tulia, Texas, where I currently live.  I am the oldest of four children, I have one younger sister Dawn, and two younger brothers Collin and Ethan.  Next year, I will be a junior at Tulia High School.  I play alto saxophone in the Tulia Fightin’ Hornet Band, varsity basketball, varsity tennis, and I run track.  My internship is located at Tulia Junior High School.  My duties during my internship will include tutoring kids in math, helping with the special-needs kids during their summer school, and assisting with Tulia ISD’s summer food program that provides free meals to any children throughout the summer.

Intern Profile: Alyssa Irlbeck

"Hi, my name is Alyssa Irlbeck.  I grew up on a farm and ranch near Happy and Tulia, graduated from Texas Tech, and now [...] work with the City Manager of Tulia to get the satellite YMCA in Tulia up and running for my community internship.  I will also conduct surveys and compile data for the Economic Development Council (EDC), look into rural health care opportunities - both existing and ones we may be able to generate - to encourage young people to come back to our town, and work on establishing Tulia as a "Main Street" town."  [...] Community Internships through the Ogallala Commons - what a great chance to change the world by putting you in contact with others who can help you make it a little brighter and a little better than it was before.

Intern Profile: Haley Jacobsen

I’m Haley Jacobson from the small town of Arnold, Nebraska. I love taking pictures, watching movies, writing, and going to the lake. I just graduated on May 12, and I am looking forward to a great summer. In the fall I will head off to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where I will be majoring in journalism and mass communications. In high school, I was involved in a lot of clubs and activities because we had such a small number of students. I participated in volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, one act, quiz bowl, student council, art club, band, teens against drugs and alcohol, journalism, and annual staff, as well as being involved in 4-H.

A couple of activities my internship [includes] are: setting up a local 4-H camp, creating a town brochure, and working with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to get an agricultural museum here in Arnold. Not only do I get to have a valuable internship experience, I have the chance to give back to the amazing little community that has helped raise me. 

Intern Profile: Catherine Jenkinson

Hello, all! My name is Catherine Jenkinson and I am the intern for the Wallace County Foundation for the second year this summer. I am from Wallace County, Kansas and I will be doing my internship at Williams Consulting with my supervisor, Rita Williams, who is a board member of the Wallace County Foundation. My work this summer will not involve accounting, however. Instead, I will be working on a fundraising letter that the foundation sends out in November to approximately seventeen-hundred people. This task will include ordering supplies, printing, cutting, labeling, and finally, stuffing the envelopes. I also will be working on an oral history project that is in the very early stages of development at this point. Furthermore, I will be planning a possible summer trip that the foundation may be putting on for the community, as well as coordinating the foundation files of the board members. I also will be doing other basic secretarial work that the foundation needs.