When Josie Plumlee of Iola taught a sewing class at the SAFE BASE Summer Program, she encountered a fourth grade girl who wasn’t happy to be there.
“I can’t believe my mom signed me up for this,” the girl told her.
But at the end of the class, the girl was sad it was over.
Tori White of Humboldt had similar experiences. She bonded with a fifth grade girl during the four-week summer program. She recalled another student who suffered from an anger outburst, and White was able to calm him.
“Sometimes it takes a change in perspective,” Plumlee said of working with the children.
White and Plumlee are working as summer interns at the Southwind Extension District. They’ve been teaching a variety of classes throughout the region, working with local youth to mitigate learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic. By presenting educational lessons in a fun and active way, they can help children learn valuable life skills.
Their internships are made possible through a grant from the Kansas Department of Education. The Kansas 4-H office is serving as host for the grant, and has placed 50 interns in K-State Research and Extension units across the state.
WHITE graduated from Humboldt High School in 2019 and is now a senior at K-State, majoring in animal science with a communications option.
She’s been involved in 4-H since she was 7, participating in everything from cattle and goats to sewing, arts and crafts, food and welding projects.
She has been part of the Allen County Fair for years as a competitor. This year, the internship offers an opportunity for White to present programming; she’ll be teaching a photography class at each of the four county fairs in the Southwind District.
“It’s nice to be able to help out and see a different side of the fair,” she said. “Fair time is crazy, no matter what side of it you are on.”
The internship also opened her eyes to the possibility of a different career path.
Because she enjoys working with children, White first had her sights on becoming a teacher.
But after weeks spent working with Extension agents, she’s now thinking that might be a career that checks all the boxes, including her interest in agriculture.
She also plans to open her own photography studio some day.
PLUMLEE comes into the internship with a different background.
