Experiential learning has been around nearly as long as Cooperative Extension. Seaman Knapp, considered the father of Cooperative Extension, wrote, "What a man hears, he may doubt; what he sees, he may possibly doubt; but what he does himself, he cannot doubt" (International Adult & Continuing Education Hall of Fame, 1997). 

The educational philosophy of the 4-H program is "learn by doing," and the agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, and community and economic development program areas have adopted similar educational methods (National 4-H Headquarters, 2006). No matter the state, no matter the program area, Cooperative Extension vows to educate through experience.

The 4-H program offers opportunities for youth to develop into confident, capable, and contributing citizens through those experiences and the 2019 Boyd County 4-H summer intern continued her experiential learning.

The Boyd County 4-H agent fully supports and promotes the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service summer internship program.  When college students serve as extension interns, they have the opportunity to become involved in real-world problems and agents get to be involved in building their future workforce.  Therefore, the Boyd County 4-H agent believes the experience is valuable and makes former 4-H members aware of the opportunity.

A former 4-H member applied and was hired as a 2019 Boyd County summer intern under the supervision of the 4-H agent.  This young lady had been involved in Boyd County 4-H for 12 years.  Her adult participation lead her to become a certified horse and livestock club leader.

During the internship, the intern had one short term project:   animal science sessions during school day camp one hour for three days; one longer term project: week long sewing camp; and two large events:  Drill Team State Competition; and Barnyard Buddies’ Field Day.   All of those programs were done as well as a county fair, 4-H camp, and assisting the Boyd County Family Consumer Science and Horticulture agent with programming.

When the Boyd County 4-H Agent asked the intern to list anything and all that she had learned from her internship; the intern had learned important skills.  Here is the list:  patience, better time management; how to make a pillow case, that she was “SO glad that she knew some about extension before she started the internship or she would have been lost”; “that many kids don’t know very much about livestock”; you must always call and confirm and follow-up on scheduled presenters or speakers; be early to make sure things are ready; “extension agents work a lot”; paperwork is not her favorite.  

Experiential learning is at the core of Extension. For college students, experiential learning consists of many different opportunities, including internships, project-based education, and service learning activities (Association for Experiential Education, n.d.). Given Extension's close connections to the community and priority populations, Extension is a natural fit for college student experiential learning opportunities (Condo & Martin, 2002).

Boyd County will continue to support and encourage the University of Kentucky Internship Program.