ALE Reflection Essay

By Jessica Best

Tarleton State University
Seminar- AGSD 485
Spring Semester 2014




This is a reflection and collection of knowledge gained throughout my college education and life
experiences and how they have impacted my internship experience. My internship was with the Texas
A&M AgriLife Extension Service or Erath County under Donna White the Family and Consumer Science
Agent.
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I completed my internship with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service under Donna
White, the Family and Consumer Science Agent for Erath County. Texas A&M AgriLife
Extension Service is an education agency with a network of educators, trained volunteers, and
county offices throughout the state of Texas. Each county addresses their local needs and adjusts
the education to meet those specific concerns. Their mission is to improve the lives of people,
businesses and communities across Texas and beyond through high-quality, relevant education
(erath.argilife.org). Specifically in Erath County, the Family and Consumer Science education is
focused on improving health, safety, productivity, and well-being. The educational focus for
agriculture is to improve stewardship of the environment and Texas natural resources
(erath.agrilife.org). 4-H is an important part of youth development and the focus is creating
responsible, productive, and self-motivating youth (erath.argilife.org) and helping them
flourish into young adults. I have learned various skills and knowledge through my education
and life experiences that has made my internship successful. I feel that these specific learning
tools has helped me complete tasks throughout my internship and will stick with me throughout
my career.
My major is Agriculture and Consumer Sciences with an emphasis of Extension. I also
have a minor in Family and Consumer Sciences. I have had many classes within my disciple that
have given me the knowledge and skills to be successful in my internship. The most vital courses
that I have taken within my major have been Pre-professional development, and courses within
my block class which included Industry methods and leadership development. All of these
courses have contributed to the ease and success of my internship.
Within my Agriculture and Consumer Sciences major Extension emphasis I took a pre-
professional development course. Having had this course exposed me to life in the professional
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world. Here I learned the valuable skills needed to work with other professionals as well as with
clientele. I learned how to write professional emails, work with excel, the value of time
management and was exposed to proper business etiquette and appropriate attire. All of the
knowledge gained and skills learn through these specific areas of emphasis have made it easier to
complete daily tasks throughout the duration of my internship.
Todays society is an era of electronics and so much of the communication is done via
email. During my pre-professional development course I learned how to write emails
professionally and was able to apply this skill throughout my entire internship experience. I had
learned how to write appropriately for whom the email is intended for, how to communicate
wirelessly and the importance of checking and following up with those emails. I worked with a
number of professionals during my internship, ranging from volunteers to sponsors for the
planning and execution of the Dinner Tonight Healthy Cooking School. I worked with The
Home Place which is one of the major sponsors for the Dinner Tonight program. I connected
with the owner via email to discuss donations for door prizes as well as submitting a budget and
list of items we needed to purchase for the event. I also was able to connect with other extension
agents in neighboring counties with the use of email. Email is an important aspect of everyday
life. It makes the ease of communication much simpler, but needs to be done in the correct
manner. It is important that when emailing in the business world that all thoughts and sentences
are complete as well as correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. Throughout the course I
learned the importance of checking emails on a regular basis and making time to reply to those
that are of a pressing subject. During my internship, I came into the office every morning and
checked my email. I also had my email open throughout the day so that I could continue to view
it. Being prompt when replying to emails is very important and sets the tone for professionalism.
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Having this knowledge has allowed me to present myself as someone who is easy and
professional to work with.
Excel is a wonderful tool to utilize, but is also very difficult to work with if you do not
know how to use it. I worked with excel, creating spreadsheets through my pre-professional
development class. After spending so much time and frustration throughout the course I was
successfully able to apply that knowledge during my internship. There had been numerous
occasions that I had to collect data to input into a spreadsheet and give to my supervisor and
excel made it very easy and professional to do so. I had to make a spreadsheet for the data we
collected from students who were apart of the Food Handlers Course. I also had to itemize and
price the value of the door prizes for the Dinner Tonight Healthy Cooking School and present
that not only to my supervisor, but to the planning committee as well. Being able to input that
data into an excel spreadsheet created less room for error on my part, made it professional and
easy to read.
One of the most important assets that any professional can have is efficient time
management skills. Time management was covered extensively throughout my pre-professional
development course. I watched numerous videos and power points on how to execute your time
and how to efficiently separate your daily tasks. I was able to apply what I had learned firsthand.
Having the tools and adequate knowledge of how to successfully manage my time made it easy
to delegate my day to pressing tasks. I was able to teach a few programs throughout my
internship and in doing so I needed to do research and have all my materials ready before that
particular event. For example, I researched and developed a handout over the different
phytochemicals in various fruits and vegetables. I did this for a program that I would be giving to
the Extension Education Club members of Erath County. I needed to be sure that I gave myself
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the proper amount of time to do the research and develop the handout before the meeting. I gave
myself plenty of time to get this task done as well as room for any unexpected tasks that would
arise during the process. During my internship, I found it to be easier if I wrote down my
schedule and then worked in research and creative time around those concrete events. If I stuck
to my written schedule it made it easier to complete tasks in a timely manner.
Being able to think professionally is an important part of any career. It is even more
important to present yourself through actions as well as physically in a professional manner. I
wrote a paper on business etiquette and proper professional attire for my pre-professional
development class and this has helped me tremendously throughout my internship. I worked with
many fellow extension agents as well as the director of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension district
8. Having the knowledge of how to present myself and how to dress made them view me not
only as an intern, but a potential candidate for a Family and Consumer Science Extension agent
role.
I truly believe that the most valuable knowledge that I have gained has been through my
block classes. Through the short six week class period I was able to learn and apply knowledge
of the professional world. One of the areas of emphasis during block was Industry Methods.
During the industry methods I learned so much about extension that I did not know before. I
learned the importance of volunteers in extension and how to work with those volunteers. I
learned how Texas A&M AgriLife Extension services are funded as well as the five stages of an
extension agents career. I learned more about 4-H, how it was developed and the importance of
the program in the development of youth within the community. Having had this prior
knowledge gave me a lot of background information about Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, the
organization I was interning for. I had an understanding of how various programs worked and
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how to work with the volunteers. Knowing how to choose and present information according to
specific audiences can be a difficult task. During my Industry Methods course I learned how to
write a job description hand out and how to execute that information into a presentation. This
served particularly vital to my internship as I had to give many presentation. For example, I gave
a program at the Christian Womens Job Corp over Eating Healthy on a Budget. Having this
knowledge and experience made it easy for me to come up with a written document over how to
create a weekly meal plan as well as efficiently explain that information to that particular
audience.
Through my block classes I had Leadership Development, which has helped me
tremendously during my internship. I learned the understanding and importance of a relationship
between an employee and employer. Having this knowledge has helped me form professional
relationships with all of those in the office. I also was able to create positive relationships with
those who I worked with on a professional level, establishing my credibility. I have always had a
high sense of responsibility when it comes to work ethics, but learning about the specific
expectations of your employer throughout my leadership development course helped me succeed
in my internship. I learned what to expect from an employer and knowing this information
allowed me to excel in those areas, allowing me to stand out as a professional. I was able to work
efficiently and learned about appropriate office behavior. This has helped me feel not as an
intern, but an important part of the AgriLife office of Erath County. Another essential skill I
learned during my leadership development course was the value of first impressions. I learned
that it is very important to present yourself to your fullest potential and in the most professional
manner. I believe that executing this has allowed me to land my internship as well as get my
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name out there within the industry. I have met a lot of AgriLife higher officials and I believe that
knowing how to present myself has left a lasting impression on them.
I have a minor in Family and Consumer Sciences and feel that all that I have learned
within this field has helped me be an asset during my internship. Having had such knowledge
and experience within the FCS world has made it easier for me to complete tasks and give
presentations. Some of the courses that have been the most helpful include, clothing
construction, nutrition, science of food preparation, meal management and family and financial
management. All of these have helped me in some way be successful in completing various
tasks.
As a Family and Consumer Science agent there are various skills that you must have in
order to be successful. Knowing how to sew is one of them. I have taken two sewing classes at
Tarleton State University. I have taken basic clothing construction as well as advance clothing
construction, where I learned to skills and knowledge to use a sewing machine and make
products such as a tote, a skirt, a blouse and a blazer. Having had these skills helped me during
the 4-H Fashion workshops. There was one particular workshop that the 4-Hers made head bands
and had to sew everything. Knowing the different types of stitching and how to make different
bows was necessary to help them. Having had these classes also made it easier to judge the Erath
County 4H Fashion show as well as the District 8 4-H Fashion show. I was able to understand
the terminology of the sewing process and understand whether something was well made or not.
I felt that having this knowledge was vital in making a fair decision on the winners of the
Fashion Show competitions.

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Throughout my college education I have taken general education requirement courses
that have helped me during my internship. I will say that at the time of taking such course as
mathematics and English seems pointless, but they all contribute what I strive for and that is a
job. I have taken nutrition, communication, and English classes that have given me to knowledge
and skills needed to do daily tasks throughout my internship experience.
Nutrition is a huge part of the education that an FCS agent provides to the community. I
did a program over eating healthy fruits and vegetables to the local Extension Education Club
members. I took a nutrition class for my general education requirements. Having had this class
exposed me to eating healthy and the use of choosemyplate.gov. This helped me create the topic
of my presentation as well as understand what I was presenting. I learned about eating a balanced
meal and how to teach others about eating healthy. Along with this nutrition class I also learned
about the importance of exercise and staying active. I had to give a short presentation to some of
the 7
th
and 8
th
grade students at Bluff Dale School over the importance of exercise and having
had this prior knowledge allowed me to really understand what I was trying to explain to the
students. I feel that it is important for and FCS agent to have some previous knowledge or
experience with nutrition since obesity is such a widely growing epidemic.
During my internship I had to work with a lot of the public. This means a lot of public
speaking and putting on demonstrations and lessons. I had taken a communications class that
taught me the skill and knowledge to write speeches as well as how to execute what you plan to
talk about. I learned how to reach out to an audience that might have preconceived biases and
how to take confrontational topics such as obesity and their personal diets and help them make
healthier decisions. I will say that the most rewarding part of my internship is knowing that I
have touch someone with what I am teaching. I taught a lesson on eating healthy on a budget to
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the students at Christian Womens Job Corp and one of the students later came up to me and told
me how much that program had impacted her. She told me that she was never aware of how
much she was spending on groceries and with the methods that I taught during that class, she
now makes a weekly meal plan and saves money. That is what makes the job so rewarding. I can
contribute my experience and knowledge of executing a well-developed program or speech.
There is a lot of writing that goes into being an FCS agent and as an intern I only saw a
glimpse of what it entails. I had to write various reports and evaluations for the organization and
the English class I took for my general education requirements has helped me complete this task.
I learned how to write in a professional manner and topics that are appropriate at a collegiate
level. During my internship I was asked to proofread a lot of programs and documents to check
for errors and make corrections. During my English class we had to do peer reviews and this
definitely helped me complete task such as that. I with knowing what to look for and proper
forms of grammar and spelling allowed me to make comments. I love finding errors and making
corrections because I feel that I am helping someone out and actually applying the knowledge
that I have learned.
I have found that my journey leading up to graduation has all tied things together.
Experiences and jobs that I have had in the past now make sense and have shaped me to be there
professional that I am today. One particular position that I have had that has greatly helped me is
my job as an office coordinator for a property management office. This position has taught me to
be organized, how to do clerical work as well as the expectations of an employee within an office
environment. I was in charge of advertising for available rent homes which let me understand the
value of deadlines and submitting things on time. During this position I learned how to properly
delegate my time into areas of need and that has really reflected during my internship experience.
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Having had previous office experience also gave me an insight to how most professional offices
work and the importance of being on time. I made sure that I was punctual and stayed on task
with what needed to be done.
I have spent many years in the service industry as a waitress working various restaurants.
At the time of working, I did not understand how beneficial the job was for my social skills. This
job as given me the tools that I need to work with the public. This has been very important as the
public is who you work with most as an FCS agent. During my serving experience I also learned
how to efficiently multitask. It takes an art to do multiple things at one time and making sure that
I am not forgetting about something important. There are so many tasks and concerns in the role
of and FCS agent and as an intern I only saw part of them. Being able to keep on track with the
most important tasks while still remembering what all needs to get done has really helped me
during my internship. Serving may not be the same job or even possess the same responsibilities
as my internship, but having had the experience definitely has put me in the service industry and
that is the same no matter what. Whether you are serving food or teaching nutrition in the
elementary schools you are serving the public at a greater cause.
Throughout my experience work with the FCS Extension Agent I was able to gain
knowledge able skills that will stick with me throughout my career. I have learned how to
become comfortable speaking in large groups. I have had experience giving presentation and
such to large audiences but have always been very nervous to the point where it is hard for me to
remember what I need to talk about. Being thrown into programs and speaking in front of diverse
audiences has given me the learning tools to calm myself and be comfortable speaking in front of
those groups. One great example is the Dinner Tonight Healthy Cooking School. There was
approximately 160 people present that I had to give a demonstration to. I felt that all the previous
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experiences within the internship allowed me to feel comfortable up on the stage. Before the
cooking school I taught a lesson to high school students over hazardous contamination for the
Food Handlers Program. I also gave two different lessons, one on reading a food label and the
next over Eating Healthy on a Budget to a small group of women. These have helped me become
comfortable in front of a large audience. This will help me in my future career endeavors.
I know that one of my greatest weaknesses is one of my greatest strengths. I am a
perfectionist and this has put my work above and beyond what I am asked to do. This also has
hurt me as I like things to my expectations and have found that this hinders me when working
with others. I have learned through my internship experience to let go of the reigns and work
with what I have. In extension you will come across lots of people who do things the way that
they want to do them. I have learned that as long as the task gets done then that is good enough. I
learned to let things go and that working with volunteers is a great attribute to the position, but
need to let them do tasks the way they want to. A great example of this is doing the Dinner
Tonight Healthy Cooking School Centerpieces. I was in charge of the table decorations and was
making tissue paper flowers. I am the type of person who will spend hours making the tissue
paper flowers because I like them done the way that I prefer them to be. When making these I
had to ask for help and accept that they may not look exactly the way that I would prefer and be
grateful of the help that I am receiving.
The greatest skill that I have been able to acquire during this internship is keeping
organized. I learned the value of keeping a planner and reflecting on that planner on a daily
basis. I had a calendar of events that my supervisor had given me and that helped me delegate
my time in an appropriate manner. I was able to keep on task with deadlines and prepare for
various programs because my organization. I will say that I have not always been the most
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organized person before my internship and after learning to proper tools and techniques to get
organized then applying them has changed me drastically. To be honest I cannot even imagine
how I functioned on a daily basis without some sort of schedule or organization method. This is a
vital tool and skill that will not only help me along my professional path but in life in general.
During the time of my internship we worked with a lot of the public in the local area. I
have lived a sheltered life and was not necessarily exposed to some of the hardships that people
have to experience within our local community. I worked a lot with the Christian Womens Job
Corp 9CWJC) in Dublin, TX. Many of these women have been through very rough and
traumatic experiences making it difficult for them to do common everyday tasks. For example, I
was helping out with a cooking school at CWJC and many of these women would take a bite of
what was about to be served with the serving spoon then put it back. At the time I did not know
what to do and later learn of what to do in such a situation. I was shocked that someone would
not have the manners to do such a thing and later talked about it to my supervisor. I realized the
need for such education not only to help these people in social situations, but in a professional
sense when searching for jobs.
We also worked some with the Fosters Home here in Stephenville, Texas. It is amazing
to hear about some of the hardships that they endure at such a young age. It makes your stop and
think about how you are contributing to their lives. For many of these children they have had no
real inspirations or friends and you may be their first and only friend. It is sad to think about, but
enlightening at the same time. There is a real need for the community to step up and volunteer
with these types of children because you might be that one person to turn their life around. I
worked with a few of the children on their Fashion Show projects. Even though I did not spend a
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great deal of my internship working with them, I was grateful for the time that I did and knowing
that I made them excited about something such as fashion.
The experience that I had with my internship has broadened my horizons to the concerns
of public health within our community. I was able to work with some of the TSU nursing
students on presentations to elementary and middle school students over healthy diets. Childhood
obesity is a wide spreading epidemic and even throughout Erath County. There needs to be a
greater impact within the school system to educate these children. If they learn how to eat
healthy and exercise at a young age then maybe they will develop the skills and tools needed to
create better lives as they grow up. I was happy to be a part of that and know that what I was
doing help a child.
Extension relies heavily on volunteers. Volunteers are what make extension possible.
Volunteers are needed for planning committees as well as for putting on various events and
judging. These can be in the areas of FCS, agriculture and 4-H and youth programs. Many of the
educational programs put on by AgriLife Extension would not be possible without the help of the
community. I learned that the need for volunteers will never decrease and it is important to do
your part in serving your community to help out. I know that experiencing working with
volunteers with my internship and how vital they are to successful programs, I will be
volunteering more often.
I have found many links that bind my college education with life experiences to my
internship. All of the time I have spent learning about various topics have allowed me to be
successful in completing tasks during my internship. I feel that collectively all of these skills and
learning tools have gotten me to where I am today. Over the course of this internship there is one
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very important asset that you must possess to do this kind of work. That asset is passion. You
must have a passion for what you do, the topics you teach and for the community in which you
reach out to. If you have all of these then you are guaranteed to be a successful extension agent. I
learned that I have found my passion and am excited about the road that lies ahead. I have found
my niche and it feels quite liberating to know that this is where I am meant to be. All of my hard
work has come together and made me aware of why I am here. I have loved every minute of my
internship with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service under the Family and Consumer
Science Agent Donna White.











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Works Cited

Extension Education in Erath County. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2014, from Texas A&M
AgriLife Extension: http://erath.agrilife.org/about/