This week I had the opportunity to get together with my fellow UME interns and spend two days at the University of Maryland College Park campus. There we participated in leadership and workforce development training, networked with UMD faculty, and took a tour of numerous agricultural research laboratories. One laboratory I found particularly interesting to visit was Dr. Stephanie Lansing’s Bioenergy and Bioprocessing Tech Laboratory. In her lab, we got to see an anaerobic digester and learn about how matter such as livestock manure can be harvested and converted into a source of energy. Research focused on environmental sustainability has always been of particular interest to me and so I found this stop of the Campus Research Tour especially enjoyable.
Because all the UME interns are stationed at different extension offices and research centers across the state, this was the first time we were all able to get together in person. Meeting my fellow interns and learning about their backgrounds, their internship experience so far, and their career aspirations was one of the highlights of the entire two-day event. Hearing my peers speak about their goals such as becoming agricultural teachers, marketers, and even starting their own businesses someday was fun and inspiring to listen to.
Another component of the Campus Research Tour Experience was the leadership development aspect. Dr. Antonio Silas, the UME Director for the Baltimore City Office, gave a presentation I felt was especially eye-opening. He discussed the different types of leadership styles and encouraged us to think about which type of leader we think we are, the type of leader we thrive under, and the type of leader we want to become. One activity we did with Dr. Silas was one where we wrote out our own leadership philosophy statements and shared them out loud with the group. It was inspiring to listen to my peers speak about which qualities they believe an effective leader should possess. Traits like trustworthiness, integrity, humility, and kindness stood out to me as some of the most defining characteristics of a leader.
One of the last stops on the tour was the UMD Campus Learning Garden led by Ms. Lindsay Barranco. The garden and all of its produce was beautiful to see and I very much enjoyed walking around the green space. In one portion of the garden, they are growing Swiss chard which is the same vegetable I started growing from seed earlier this summer for the biochar experiment I am working on with Dr. Lu. Seeing Swiss chard that is almost ready for harvest was great to view in person and made me excited for the future of the summer research project.
I had a wonderful time participating in the UMD Campus Research Tour Experience. The jam packed schedule made the event educational and exciting and I greatly enjoyed getting to know the other UME interns. It is hard to believe the internship program is almost half-way done but I am excited for the remaining part of my summer with UMD Extension.
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