Ashley Gemienhardt: Madison County office of Ohio State University Extension

Ashley Gemienhardt, an agriscience education student, completed her summer experience with the Madison County office of Ohio State University Extension in central Ohio. From Urbana, OH, Ashley is starting her third year at Ohio State ATI this fall. Agriscience Education encompasses many areas, including animal science, agronomy, engineering technology, and student teaching curriculum, just to name a few. With much of the coursework focused on becoming a high school educator, Ashley wanted a chance to explore the world of Extension education as well.  

Since starting her internship, Ashley has been a part of the county’s 4-H camp, Master Gardener program, and Madison County Junior Fair. Specific to the fair, Ashley helped coordinate the junior fair Skillathon, quality assurance, and junior fair contests throughout that week. She completed much of this work alongside Madison County’s 4-H Educator Laura Dillon, and Amanda Douridas, Extension educator and lecturer at Ohio State ATI.  

From this experience, Ashley improved her skills in organization, team building, verbal and written communication, and leadership. She is hopeful that the skills learned in Extension education will benefit her in future endeavors. Her piece of advice to students is, “Definitely get involved! By getting involved you can make friends to feel more at home. It can also provide some networking that may be helpful in the future.”