Work style and Interests - by Kendell Weingard

This is an image of me placing the soil moisture sensors into the ground after creating a hole at the miscanthus field in Dorchester County, MD.

After five ongoing weeks as an intern for University of Maryland Extension, I have come to terms with my working style, a rough draft of my vision for the future, and my interests.  Being an intern in Extension has allowed me to immerse myself in a professional setting and prepare myself for the future. I have come to a broad conclusion that I envision myself utilizing my education in biology by pursuing research for an organization that provides benefit to the public.  Throughout this internship I have learned that I enjoy meeting people, understanding their role and gaining insight on their experiences. I also have gotten to experience what it is like to work to help and interact with the community and that is something I would like to continue to contribute to in the future. I have appreciated meeting various agriculture agents and those who assemble each office, each person brings something to the table and I enjoy creating relationships with new people.  Hearing others' experiences and career paths helps me to decipher what I would like to do in the future. 

 Assisting with assorted projects and tasks has allowed me to recognize my appreciation for variety. I have noticed that I enjoy having many changing tasks, it keeps me entertained, and I strive to learn new skills daily.  This week I assisted Dr. Sarah Hirsh in processing soil samples, and implementing and programming soil moisture sensors for the miscanthus field in Dorchester County.  Two visits to the farm included replacing plot flags, installing deer cameras and placing four sets of soil moisture sensors at 32 inches, 18 inches, 12 inches, 6 inches and 3 inches depth. Once the moisture sensors were set up, the data loggers were placed on a pole and plugged into the moisture sensors. I enjoy learning new field skills that I can hopefully implement into my own future research. I appreciate the fact that this internship has offered me the ability to accumulate skills and learn different career perspectives. I hope to have a career in the future where I can utilize my previous knowledge while continuing to learn.

This internship has been a great opportunity to better understand how I function in the workplace. At first it was intimidating to approach a professional setting and initiate career development. I have come to learn that I love to face challenges, it helps me grow as an individual and feel confident in my future abilities. The connections I have  made with colleagues and the memorable experiences I've witnessed have already had an impact on how I want to approach my future. 

This is an image of me using the soil probe to create a hole with the required depth of the
soil moisture sensors. They were placed at depths of 32, 18, 12, 6 and 3 inches.

Pictured is a set of soil moisture sensors at different depths in the miscanthus field soil. These sensors were placed to accumulate data on the growing conditions and soil moisture of the miscanthus in various locations on the fields.  Two sets of soil moisture sensors were placed along a field transect.