Merrick Winters of Okmulgee recently completed her service as an Oklahoma 4-H STEMist intern in Stillwater.
Every summer, two college students or recent high school graduates are selected to spend 10 weeks teaching workshops and curriculum to members of the Oklahoma 4-H Youth Development organization, along with recording and editing educational videos/experiments.
The interns receive one week of training to learn the curriculum, prepare activity tools and develop a new STEM activity together.
“I applied for this program because I wanted an inside view of some different activities that 4-H leaders and Extension educators put on inside their programs,” Winters said.
As a former Okmulgee County 4-H member, Winters wanted to connect with youth in activities she experienced as a member.
As an intern, she worked with her STEMist partner in the 4-H state office to prepare lessons and gather materials while also actively traveling Oklahoma to present curriculum to 4-H youth.
“The STEMist program contributes very heavily to the growth of STEM activities on the county level by getting out there and teaching approachable programs,” Winters said. “Kids can immerse themselves and bring out their creativity and thinking skills.”
The final week of the 4-H STEMist internship aligns with the annual Oklahoma 4-H Roundup, where 4-H members from grades seventh through 12th gather on the Oklahoma State University campus to attend workshops, learn leadership skills and receive scholarships.
Winters assisted the 4-H Roundup committee chairs in coordinating the event and was a recognizable face among county educators thanks to the STEMist program.
“Even as a former 4-H member I have never been to 4-H Roundup,” Winters said. “I got to meet so many amazing people and see so many friendly faces that I met from doing the county programs.”
This summer, the STEMist interns engaged with 76 4-H Cloverbuds and 394 4-H members across 24 counties in Oklahoma.
Winters is an agricultural education major at OSU and credits the STEMist program for helping her prepare for her future career.
“This program has allowed me to teach lessons outside of a classroom setting and see how kids respond and learn from our lessons,” Winters said. “It also helped me see different ways of developing lessons in correlating them to multiple things.”
The most rewarding part of the program was witnessing members with big smiles on their faces as they talked about how much fun they had, she added.
—
The Oklahoma 4-H Youth Development program provides experiential and hands-on learning opportunities to help youth learn valuable life skills they need to become leaders within their clubs, communities, state and world. Most programming is available at little to no cost. 4-H membership is open to youth in each of Oklahoma’s 77 counties where OSU Extension educators are equipped with research-based information to help all residents solve local issues, promote leadership and manage resources.
