I know that many of you have completed your summer intern experience. Thank you for sharing your time and talents with the 4-H Youth Development program. We were very fortunate to have very skilled individuals working with youth throughout the state this summer.

I have enjoyed sharing a question with you each week. It was good to read your comments. I would also appreciate any suggestions on how to improve the blog for future years. Thanks so much to my colleagues Abby and Sam for helping me with this blog experience, as it was the first time I had developed one and learned a lot through the process.

I hope that many of you will enjoy some time at the MN State Fair during the next 12 days. I will be at the fair most of next week, so if you get a chance, stop by the 4-H Building and say hi. Please also know that we will be searching for talented young people to work with the 4-H program in 2009, so look for application information in January.

Best of luck in the future,

Nancy Hegland

Since many of you have wrapped up County Fair experiences or may be in the thick of it this week, I thought I would take one week to discuss a very important topic - Fair Food. This week is the Dakota County Fair, which happens to be the same site as my office. Just this afternoon, one of my colleagues asked if I had already eaten or if I would like to go for a walk and have some fair food. I had already had lunch, but was glad to go for a walk with her. As we stopped to talk with other office colleagues, the main topic seemed to be the food and the best place to get that food item. My friend Lisa chose a Bratwurst, which was recommended to her four years ago, when we moved to the Farmington Regional Office. She makes sure that she has at least one each year. Other "hot food" items included corn on the cob, donuts, cheese curds, and anything from the bakery. I was glad I left my money in the office. Don't worry, I will be back later in the week to have a pork chop on a stick.

The one food item I must have at the MN State Fair is a foot-long hotdog from the corner stand near the Coliseum. It is usually the only food that I have to have each year. I do like the ice cream from the dairy building, but it is not the first stop.

Question of the week - What fair food is your favorite?

I will be on vacation next week, so Samantha Grant, Extension Educator from the Rochester Regional Office will be posting the question of the week.

Have a great week!

Nancy

I don't know if your summer is going fast, but by the end of the week it will be August. It is hard to believe that some of you will soon be completing your summer internship and going back to school. I wil have a Kindergartener this year, so we have been busy getting school supplies, a backpack, and planning our school shopping trip. I'm sure it will be quite the adventure for all of us.

Last Friday, you should have received an email message from Diane Lambrecht with an evaluation form to complete on the summer intern program. Please take the time to provide feedback to us.

This week, I am focusing the question on technology. I just received an email about taking a on-line course on various new technologies. As I took the self assessment, it was clear that I have a lot to learn. I'm sure many of you could help me learn about the tools that are out there, which can help us reach new audiences and improve how we do our work.

This week's question: What new technology have you used this summer as an intern?

Thanks so much for sharing your comments! Please know that most of you are listed as authors and can create new entries.

Have a great day!

Nancy

As many of you may know, it is time for the mid-year evaluations for 4-H summer interns. A few weeks ago, all Extension Educators working with interns, recevied a evaluation form to use in evaluating interns mid way through the summer and again at the completion of the summer. The intent of the evaluation is to help both the intern and Extension. We want to learn what works best for interns as well as ways that we can improve the summer intern program.

This year, I will be sending all 4-H summer interns an evaluation form to use in evaluating the program. It will be sent via email from Diane Lambrecht, my support staff. The evaluation will ask various questions which will help us identify ways in which we can improve the program. Please take the time to complete the evaluation and send it back directly to Diane. She will keep all responses confidential.

Evaluation of 4-H programs is essential as we work in a public arena. It is important to demonstrate the impact programs have on the lives of youth and families.

This weeks question:

How have you evaluated the 4-H programs that you worked with this summer?

Have a great day!

Nancy

It must really be busy in the world of 4-H internships! I believe that is a good sign, as you know that the role you play this summer is essential to the 4-H Youth Development program. Since there have not been any new comments for a couple of weeks, I will not post a new question this week. Please look back to the last couple of questions and share your thoughts about them.

Have a great day!

Nancy

It is definately County Fair season! The weather is warm and humid, which seems to be a sign almost every year. The Hennepin County Fair was in mid-June and many fairs start this week. County Fairs are an important aspect of the 4-H Youth Development program, as it is an opportunity for youth to showcase their project work and discuss it with a caring adult in a judging situation. As I think back to my years as a 4-H member, I remember the excitement that came from getting ready for entry day. It was a lot of work, however well worth the effort. I enjoyed telling the judge about my projects and the key aspects I learned each year. I also remember County Fair days, when I was a county based Extension Educator. After a couple of years, I realized that my main role was to problem solve various situations and promote the 4-H Youth Development program. It was always helpful to have a strong volunteer pool and willing youth leaders to share in the responsibility of the County Fair. They are key to our success in the program. My support staff was the key person that really made everything happen that week. She knew the ins and outs of all the details and made sure that they were covered. As you approach your county fair, make sure to take it all in and thank all the people that make the fair possible.

This weeks question:

What special program/activity are you working on for the the county fair?

Have a great day!

Nancy

It's great to read all the comments on the U of M 4-H Summer Intern blog! Thanks for checking it out and adding comments. Please feel free to send me any suggestions for the question of the week. I will be looking for any ideas or suggestions, which would be valuable to you as an intern.

The final National 4-H Mission Mandate that will be featured relates to Youth Leadership. As most of you know, there are many opportunities for youth of all ages to have a leadership role in 4-H programs. Whether you are a younger member taking on a role with your clubs service learning project or serving as an officer, there is certainly a need for leadership. The statewide 4-H Youth Leadership Initiative team has been working together since January 2007. During this time we have researched many publications, developed core competencies, and are in the process of setting up a pilot program for youth leadership this fall. We will also be working with the Grow Green Leadership trips at the MN State Fair, as well as Youth Leadership conference judging. If you have any questions regarding the MN 4-H Youth Leadership initiative, feel free to contact Brian McNeill at mcnei006@umn.edu or myself. Brian and I co-chair this team.

This weeks question:

What types of programs are you doing in the area of Youth Leadership?

Have a great week and enjoy the 4th of July!

Nancy

I hope your 4-H summer internship is going well. It's hard to beleive that summer just actually started over the weekend and the days will start to get shorter already. I really enjoy to extended light time during this month. I could do without the bugs, however that is part of living in MN.

As I mentioned last week, the blog will focus on the Mission Mandates from National 4-H Council for the next couple of weeks. Each Mission Mandate has a statewide team working to design, develop, and implement programs in each area. Last week, the question focused on SET. There weren't a lot of comments last week, so if you have questions regarding SET work, please contact the statewide educator working with SET progamming, Katie Clarke. Katie has an office at the Worthington Regional Office and would be glad to talk with you about SET programming.

This week we will focus on the Healthy Living Mission Mandate. This mandate can encompass a lot of the work we do in 4-H Youth Development, especially in foods/nutrition and health and safety. Donna Geiser (Fergus Falls) and Kim Asche (Hutchinson) are the contacts for the statewide team.

What types of programming are you doing this summer related to Healthy Living?

Have a great day!

Nancy Hegland

It is great to see all the comments on the blog! Thanks for sharing with each other. It is really important to ask questions during your summer internship experience. As I think back to the year that I served as a summer intern in Wisconsin, I wish I would have asked more questions about the 4-H program and Extension. Make the time to talk with the P rogram Coordinators, Extension Educators in 4-H Youth Development, and other Extension Educators at the Regional Offices.

As you may know, National 4-H has identified 3 Mission Mandates for 4-H Programming. They are Science, Engineering, and Technology, Healthy Living, and Citizenship/Leadership. For the next three weeks, the question of the week will focus on each Mission Mandate.

This weeks question:

What types of programs are you doing around Science, Engineering, and Technology?

Enjoy the great weather!

Nancy Hegland

I believe it will actually be warm today, so summer must be here! It's a good thing, since camps are starting and it is the week for YELLO. I am in the process of adding interns to the list of authors, so please email me with the email address you will be using this summer. I have a few of them, but want to get them all included, so you can post messages. Anyone can add a comment to the blog. It will indicate that it will need to be approved, which I will do as soon as I get the message.

This weeks question for discussion is:

What is one activity you are planning for either day or resident camp this summer?

It is the first week in June! Some of the interns have been on the job a couple of weeks, while others are just starting or will start next week. Each week there will be a new question, which we will discuss on the blog. If you have suggestions for the question, please email me at nhegland@umn.edu.

The question for this week is:

What have you found most surprising about your summer intern role?

I look forward to reading your comments!

Have a great day!

Nancy Hegland