After being couped up in our apartment for the past two months, I have been so excited to finally get out and get to work. This short week has not slowed me (or the office) down from being active. Tuesday we returned from our long weekend and opened up our morning with a staff meeting. This generally isn’t too exciting other than the fact the new ANR agent (Charley- or Charlotte- Maxwell) began her first day! She is split between Goochland, where she is mainly housed, but will also spend part of her time in the Chesterfield office. This ANR agent also happens to be one of my best friends! We roomed together in college, were in the same sorority, and had a countless of classes together…she was even in my wedding!! I am so excited for her to have this opportunity as I know she will be amazing and bring a lot to the position.
Later that day, the interns and I sat in on a meeting for the SAFE task force. This group is comprised of several different individuals from various government offices to educate youth on the importance of tobacco and nicotine prevention and eliminate the abuse of such products. The county intern is working heavily with the mental health services which is part of the SAFE task force. They are going throughout Chesterfield county to identify stores that sell tobacco and nicotine products so they can better direct their programming.
Wednesday I helped Jennifer (the program technician) prepare for a program that I helped with on Thursday evening and will be doing on my own later in June. I’m still getting used to publisher, but it’s great learning how to use it for future reference. Afterwards, we met with Gretchen who helps coordinate various programs for the school system. Together, extension and the school system hold a program called COMPASS which allows families to buy school supplies for a very small fee. They also hold other events that show families the services we offer.
I also met with Thaddeus Huff who is the program coordinator for the Central Library. June 6th they are holding a maker expo. Since I’m interested in STEM educated, but have limited experience, I’m using this opportunity to “get my feet wet”. There are a variety of makers that will be attending including jewelry, rockets, computers, 3D printers, chocolate, clothing, and more!
When I got back, Charley and I headed over to the farmers market where we made some important connections and got some yummy produce!
Thursday morning the interns and I attended a county meeting to see what that was like, how the run things, what projects are going on, etc. That evening I headed to the Chester YMCA where I worked with Jae educating youth on different cultures including items they eat. For this lesson we made homemade salsa and chips and learned about Mexico. The kids surprisingly admitted that they loved the homemade salsa (including the onions and peppers!). They kept asking for more. Most of the kids were excited to cook as well. While the chips were cooking, I read them a book called “Too Many Tamales”; you could have heard a needle drop they were so quiet.
Friday was more relaxed as I focused on preparing for the next cooking YMCA camp and other summer programs.
Chesterfield VCE Internship 