Third Week’s the Charm!

This week has been a fun week here at the office doing a variety of things.

Tuesday the other intern and I worked on updating current programming.  Many of the programs we offer have been offered for many years. Though the information does not often change, our delivery methods are in constant need of updating and improving; therefore, we looked through a couple main programs used frequently and updated the delivery methods used.  For example, Character Counts is a program often taught during after-school programming in at-risk communities.  The definition of caring hasn’t changed, but we created activities for youth of all ages to explore caring and the other character counts pillars.

Since I am  also trying to complete my Master’s project through this internship, I finally got things rolling on this week and am making some final decision for that this weekend at the makers expo which I am so excited about!! As part of our competition funding, we had to submit a grant proposal which I was in charge of. I am not a writer and have never done anything of the sorts so being able to step out of my comfort zone to and accomplish grant proposal writing was very beneficial as I know I will have to do much more of it in the future. Our grant has now been submitted so I can’t wait to hear back!

After working a updating programming the majority of the week, Caitlin and I decided that next week we wanted to work on getting funding and support for the rocketry competition that Scott and I will be hosting at the end of June. This requires us going out into the community and reaching out to local schools, businesses, and other organizations. We’ve already gotten a head start; however, physically going out into the community will allow me not only explore the area but give us a presence in the community. This is a great opportunity to really apply the knowledge I have learned from my classes to a real-world situation.

This morning Caitlin and I visited Bellwood Elementary School with one of the Master Gardeners as part of the school’s career day.  We had a poster board set up explaining the various careers students could potentially go into specifically for horticulture. We had a pizza garden to show them that you can grow just about anything you want in a small space such as items you would use to make a pizza. I was also able to educate the youth on STEM education and hopefully get them interested in what I’ll be doing for my project.  I was also able to check out some other careers that were represented including and architectural design company; I got to sit in their cool chair!