What better way to learn career skills than by watching a professional at work? This spring I’m coordinating Early Field Experiences for the Agricultural & Extension Education program at Ohio State. I work with professional educators in the field (usually in a high school agriculture program or a county Extension office) to place Ag & Ext Ed students who are early in their degree program for a two-week observation experience. My own EFE was with Mr. Allen Clark at Warren High School in Washington County, Ohio. It was a wonderful opportunity to experience first-hand what an agriculture teacher’s job was REALLY like and it most certainly created a felt need for the rest of my coursework in the Ag & Ext Ed program at Ohio State.
While internships serve as a very valuable tool for career preparation later on, these short, two-week observation experiences early on in a college career can serve to narrow career focus, peak a student’s interest, or even rule out certain career paths before finding oneself too far down a certain road. I’m glad to be a part of this year’s process.
