2021 Rural Fellows—Ravenna

Maria Harthoorn & Olivia Otte Author

08/13/2021 Added

44 Plays

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Student and Community Fellows talk about the community development projects they worked on in Ravenna, Nebraska during Summer 2021.

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[00:00:01.011]Welcome to Ravenna.
[00:00:04.190]Hi, my name is Olivia Otte,
[00:00:05.520]and I'm serving as a student fellow in Ravenna, Nebraska.
[00:00:09.640]My name is Maria Harthoorn,
[00:00:10.530]and this summer I've been stationed in Ravenna
[00:00:13.400]as a student fellow.
[00:00:15.370]Working in Ravenna has really opened my eyes
[00:00:17.300]to seeing the greater Nebraska area in a new lens.
[00:00:20.610]As a student enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
[00:00:23.200]I'm used to classrooms, coursework,
[00:00:25.190]and being surrounded mainly by young people
[00:00:26.950]in a similar stage of life as me.
[00:00:28.890]Here I'm seeing the pace of rural life
[00:00:31.820]and how they support our state.
[00:00:34.230]And from this experiential learning
[00:00:35.920]that I couldn't have gotten in the classroom,
[00:00:37.640]I can go back to Lincoln or for my final year
[00:00:40.550]and really know what Nebraska needs
[00:00:42.470]and how I can best serve our state.
[00:00:45.450]Throughout my time in Ravenna,
[00:00:46.900]I was able to work with the Ravenna Area Vision Fund.
[00:00:50.770]They're a group of community volunteers
[00:00:53.290]that just try to progress Ravenna in any way possible.
[00:00:56.950]And right now their big project
[00:00:58.310]is working on a hike and bike trail.
[00:01:00.920]So I've gotten to help them with their grant applications
[00:01:04.470]and gone to different meetings with them.
[00:01:07.270]So that's been a huge learning process.
[00:01:09.340]That will be affecting generations to come in Ravenna.
[00:01:12.140]So I've really been able to see firsthand
[00:01:14.640]how much work it takes to make a community
[00:01:17.440]thrive and prosper.
[00:01:19.000]I've had a lot of great role models here
[00:01:21.420]that have really given me great examples of what it takes
[00:01:24.380]and how much effort and work you need to put in.
[00:01:27.220]And we've learned that rural communities
[00:01:30.700]don't happen by accident here.
[00:01:33.080]You have to put in the work and you have to be willing
[00:01:35.350]to keep progressing towards a better future
[00:01:38.170]in order to see real change happen.
[00:01:40.510]Throughout my time here,
[00:01:41.343]I've been collaborating with businesses
[00:01:42.740]to learn about Google Analytics and marketing tools
[00:01:45.440]on how to effectively brand themselves
[00:01:47.290]to targeted audiences, meeting with businesses,
[00:01:50.130]such as the bank, city offices, and assisted living home.
[00:01:53.860]I've seen these people interested in broadening their scope
[00:01:56.900]to serve customers in a new way,
[00:01:58.590]which is really encouraging.
[00:02:00.786]The experiences from the summer, they'll be used,
[00:02:05.280]I mean, every day for the rest of my life,
[00:02:07.220]because you can always learn something new.
[00:02:11.690]You are never at a level where you know everything.
[00:02:16.830]And so these experiences,
[00:02:21.930]you know, we always look for them
[00:02:24.470]and we look for new experiences.
[00:02:27.710]And that's how we find new opportunities.
[00:02:30.450]And so it's been a very good experience.
[00:02:37.380]This experience has really taught me
[00:02:39.710]how to be a better leader,
[00:02:41.380]and specifically be an inclusive leader.
[00:02:45.020]To be an inclusive leader,
[00:02:46.200]you have to listen to those around you.
[00:02:47.980]And so in the future, I'm going to listen to people,
[00:02:52.040]not just jump to conclusions, you know,
[00:02:54.460]put people in a stereotypical box or situations
[00:02:58.380]and really listening to what's going on
[00:03:00.380]and why those things are happening.
[00:03:02.640]So it's gonna challenge me to be a better listener.
[00:03:05.230]You know, this office is just me and Amber
[00:03:07.460]and the interns.
[00:03:10.390]They really, you know, duplicated it
[00:03:13.930]to more than just four of us,
[00:03:17.270]because the things that we can accomplish
[00:03:21.790]when we're all on the same page.
[00:03:23.550]And they did just such a great job of being vested
[00:03:26.810]into the projects and having the foresight
[00:03:30.450]to not just pay attention to know what's next,
[00:03:32.860]but to be able to go out and get what's next.
[00:03:36.730]This work is important to the future of rural communities
[00:03:40.090]and Ravenna specifically because it's pushing us forward.
[00:03:44.630]And it's encouraging us to think about things
[00:03:46.683]in a completely different light.
[00:03:48.210]And they have completely fresh perspectives.
[00:03:51.240]They force us to really get outside of our own head
[00:03:54.890]and get outside of our comfort zone
[00:03:56.910]and think about things in a different light.
[00:04:00.993](peaceful music)

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2021 Rural Fellows—Ravenna

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