2022 Rural Fellows—Dawes, Sheridan & Sioux Counties

Faith Junck, Benoit Kayigamba Author

08/08/2022 Added

26 Plays

Description

Student and Community Fellows talk about the community development projects they worked on in Dawes, Sheridan and Sioux Counties, Nebraska during Summer 2022.

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:00.000](gentle music)
[00:00:03.179]Hi everyone, my name is Faith Junck
[00:00:05.790]and I am one of the interns here in Chadron this summer,
[00:00:09.300]getting to work with Nebraska tourism, ESU13,
[00:00:13.500]and Nebraska Extension out here in Dawes, Sheridan,
[00:00:15.570]and Sioux Counties.
[00:00:17.910]Living in Western Nebraska this summer
[00:00:19.710]has definitely been a fun experience.
[00:00:22.410]We've worked on many different projects
[00:00:24.690]and have accomplished much regarding different
[00:00:27.210]tourism aspects of the industry out here,
[00:00:30.046]along with working on mental health brochures and resources.
[00:00:34.230]We've worked hard on those types of projects
[00:00:36.150]but we've also had a lot of fun
[00:00:39.267]getting to experience Western Nebraska.
[00:00:40.980]And I've learned so much this summer
[00:00:43.380]not only professionally but also personally
[00:00:46.380]on what it looks like to be an inclusive leader.
[00:00:49.650]Whether that means I'm sharing about my cultural experiences
[00:00:53.027]back home in Eastern Nebraska
[00:00:55.530]or learning about the cultural experiences that my teammates
[00:00:58.620]have from living in Western Nebraska or Rwanda,
[00:01:01.470]or you know wherever we come from.
[00:01:04.440]This experience has really pushed me
[00:01:06.120]outside of my comfort zone in many different ways.
[00:01:09.330]And I've gotten to apply the skills that I've been using
[00:01:12.270]in class to gain that professional experience,
[00:01:15.027]but I've also gotten to apply the skills
[00:01:18.206]that I've been learning about in class
[00:01:19.849]to develop into a better leader
[00:01:21.090]and into a better community member and the whole nine yards.
[00:01:25.620]It's been a great summer
[00:01:28.249]and I've really enjoyed my time out here.
[00:01:31.680]My name is Benoit Kayigamba,
[00:01:33.390]a rising senior at UNL with the major in integrated sciences
[00:01:37.200]and a minor in information.
[00:01:39.364]This summer as rural fellow intern I created technologies
[00:01:43.980]that provide improved self guidance services
[00:01:47.340]to tourists as they come to explore Chadron.
[00:01:50.490]This includes digital walking tours and market trails.
[00:01:55.350]Also as an inclusive leader living in the community
[00:01:59.101]provided me with better perspectives on inclusion
[00:02:02.670]and diversity but most importantly it gave me an ability
[00:02:08.100]to understand what makes individuals unique
[00:02:11.460]and ensuring that they feel connected to the team.
[00:02:15.026]Besides projects, me and Faith with the help of
[00:02:18.660]community leaders we got introduced
[00:02:21.030]to the professional environment
[00:02:23.850]and also provided community service.
[00:02:28.929]I'm Jenny Nixon.
[00:02:31.170]I'm a University of Nebraska Extension educator
[00:02:34.440]in the rural prosperity area.
[00:02:36.960]And I really enjoyed being a community leader
[00:02:39.390]with students from rural fellows.
[00:02:42.600]Our interns came to Chadron this year
[00:02:45.822]and they were very clear with us
[00:02:47.301]about some of their goals
[00:02:49.822]and the things they wanted to learn and do.
[00:02:51.763]And I think that really helped me
[00:02:53.662]as a community leader to help grow them.
[00:02:56.310]And in fact they helped us figure out some new ways
[00:02:59.100]that we can do that in the future.
[00:03:00.990]So our community group has really thought seriously about
[00:03:04.410]what kinds of skills the students will gain here,
[00:03:07.170]not just what they are doing,
[00:03:09.385]but what skills will they take home with them?
[00:03:11.490]And I think allowing them to communicate
[00:03:14.190]with other leaders, to meet those leaders,
[00:03:16.620]and interact with them and also then to interact with
[00:03:20.610]community members whoever they might be in different ways
[00:03:24.480]helps gain confidence for them in the things
[00:03:27.450]that they're doing and communication skills that they will
[00:03:30.060]be able to take with them forever.
[00:03:31.950]So that's one of the things that we've gained this year.
[00:03:34.905](gentle music)
[00:03:37.486]Our rural fellows work will create long term impact
[00:03:41.520]in the Northwest Nebraska region as a whole.
[00:03:44.070]The barn quilt trail, the walking tours,
[00:03:46.380]the farmers market trail, and all of the other projects
[00:03:48.985]will help provide curated experiences for visitors
[00:03:52.920]and residents alike and provide additional opportunities
[00:03:55.541]to reach new audiences and keep them in the area longer.
[00:03:59.640]Working with the fellows the last several years
[00:04:01.890]has provided me with the opportunity to see the region
[00:04:04.680]from a new perspective.
[00:04:06.210]I live in a very rural area
[00:04:08.670]and the fellows have explored our hiking trails
[00:04:11.430]or learned to ride horses and rope.
[00:04:13.470]They've embraced experiences that we have to offer
[00:04:15.900]which is something residents sometimes forget to do
[00:04:20.850]The impact of the students helps create partnerships
[00:04:26.310]in the community.
[00:04:28.551]There are a couple people I've had the opportunity
[00:04:30.702]to work with and I've always wanted to
[00:04:32.243]'cause I knew we'd have good energy.
[00:04:33.562]And now we're on the same team.
[00:04:34.905]In addition to our main community fellows
[00:04:37.800]we do have kind of an advisory group
[00:04:40.080]of some other community leaders that help get this started.
[00:04:42.990]And we all work really well together
[00:04:44.580]because we're big picture thinkers.
[00:04:47.340]And that that helps us, helps us move our county forward.
[00:04:51.566]I have throughout this process, this is my fourth year,
[00:04:55.890]and I feel I grow a little more each year
[00:04:58.230]on the inclusive and, and my supervisor recognizes it
[00:05:02.250]in me as well when I, as I facilitate some meetings
[00:05:05.850]and she has noticed that change in my facilitation
[00:05:10.140]which is a great thing.
[00:05:11.460]So, so I'm able to include more people in,
[00:05:16.260]or you know being comfortable with a little silence
[00:05:20.040]and giving people an opportunity to say something.

The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!

You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.

Comments

0 Comments

2022 Rural Fellows—Dawes, Sheridan & Sioux Counties

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Comments