GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kayla Malone, a University of Florida senior studying political science, worked full time on campus as an intern with the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension sector last summer, doing research on community development, going to conferences and getting articles she wrote published online.

“The internship was very engaging and multi-generational and not your typical kind of monotonous internship,” Malone said. “I gained a broader understanding of what Extension’s role is in the state of Florida.”

The Florida Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Florida is looking for students for its summer 2015 Extension internship program.

Under the internship program, students will be placed in participating counties around Florida and will work directly with county Extension faculty to deliver educational programming throughout the state. Students will work 40 hours a week for 8 weeks and will be paid $14 per hour.

“The purpose of the program is to provide experience to students who are interested in working in the Florida Cooperative Extension Service,” said Extension Administrator Keith Gouin. “The hope is that after graduation we can recruit them to come back to join our faculty team. It’s a great way to really understand what Extension is.”

Extension is a partnership between state, federal and county governments dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences. Extension’s goal is to make that knowledge accessible to Floridians in order to sustain and enhance their quality of life.

Students and local Extension agents will work together in one or more of these program areas: agricultural and horticultural enterprises, water resources, natural resources and environmental quality, individual and family development, community resources and economic development and 4-H Youth Development.

It also focuses on Extension’s “super issues” and “high priority initiatives,” which can be found in the UF/IFAS Extension Roadmap: http://extadmin.ifas.ufl.edu/roadmap.shtml.

Although the internship is with UF/IFAS, Gouin said students from any major are free to apply as long as they can show how the internship will benefit them in their field of study. He said about a dozen students will be accepted into the program, but added that everyone interested should apply. After reviewing the applications, UF/IFAS Extension will match the appropriate student to a program area and county.

“Extension is something that has been around for decades and it’s something that people take for granted. But moving forward, I feel like it’s important for young people to understand what it is and what it does,” Malone said.

For more information please visit their internship website: http://extadmin.ifas.ufl.edu/internship_program.shtml or contact Keith Gouin at keithg@ufl.edu. Applications can be found online at: http://sss.ifas.ufl.edu/eiad/and are due February 23rd by midnight.

By Rachel LaVigna, 301-801-9913, rlavigna@ifas.ufl.edu

Source: Keith Gouin, 352-392-1761, keithg@ufl.edu

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