Community Conversations with Jordan Rasmussen

Jordan Rasmussen Author

11/15/2022 Added

3 Plays

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Jordan Rasmussen promotes the Rural Fellows program for Summer 2023, originally scripted for KRBX.

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[00:00:01.620]Summer 2023 will mark
[00:00:03.240]the Rural Fellowship Program's 10th anniversary.
[00:00:05.760]A seven week program
[00:00:06.930]housed in the University of Nebraska Lincoln's
[00:00:09.180]Institute of Ag and Natural Resources
[00:00:11.264]places college students in Nebraska towns
[00:00:14.070]to help create and execute community improvement projects.
[00:00:18.060]For both students and communities,
[00:00:19.800]the application window opened October 1st.
[00:00:22.590]Community applications are due December 30th.
[00:00:25.620]Applications can be found at ruralprosperityNE.unl.edu.
[00:00:31.529]"The Rural Fellowship Program
[00:00:33.450]is different from traditional internships,"
[00:00:35.250]said Helen Fagan, program coordinator.
[00:00:37.687]"In an internship, students generally work for a company
[00:00:40.240]to gain career experience.
[00:00:42.616]With the fellowship,
[00:00:43.920]students live in and work for a community,
[00:00:46.650]bringing their own talents and education
[00:00:48.720]to help improve that community."
[00:00:51.360]During the application process, community leaders outline
[00:00:54.360]projects they'd like to work on the following summer.
[00:00:57.270]Fagan and her team then interview student applicants
[00:00:59.374]and place them in towns where
[00:01:00.960]their education and experiences can be used
[00:01:03.210]to help complete those projects.
[00:01:05.520]In the past, students have designed hike and bike trails,
[00:01:07.999]organized small business Saturday events,
[00:01:10.419]hosted youth entrepreneurship seminars,
[00:01:12.806]and created public health initiatives.
[00:01:16.023]"We didn't have the ability
[00:01:18.060]from a team member and time perspective
[00:01:19.920]to devote to this," said Kyle Kellum,
[00:01:21.750]CEO of Cherry County Hospital in Valentine,
[00:01:24.840]where a major project for 2022 fellows
[00:01:27.630]was researching the need for and possibility of
[00:01:30.390]creating community-funded daycare.
[00:01:32.617]"This was something that we had to tackle as an organization
[00:01:35.640]and having the Rural Fellowship Program here
[00:01:37.860]has been a tremendous asset for our organization."
[00:01:41.405]While having students living and working in the towns
[00:01:44.070]is a boon to rural Nebraska communities,
[00:01:46.260]the students also benefit from the experience,
[00:01:48.440]and not just through their paycheck.
[00:01:50.827]"The communities bring in some of the brightest,
[00:01:52.860]most vibrant, and most ambitious young minds
[00:01:55.380]to their communities,
[00:01:56.400]ready to be proactive in developing plans
[00:01:58.620]to create resources and solve challenges," said Darryl King,
[00:02:02.190]experiential learning and community engagement coordinator
[00:02:05.070]for the program.
[00:02:06.294]As for the participants, they get a chance to
[00:02:08.820]apply their knowledge to real world issues
[00:02:11.070]and work with community leaders,
[00:02:12.750]while still learning the other courses.
[00:02:15.240]Working with these community leaders
[00:02:16.830]provides mentoring opportunities, leadership skills,
[00:02:19.320]and experiential learning.
[00:02:21.381]Faith Zhang, an environmental science major from Caroll
[00:02:25.170]who served in Chadron this summer,
[00:02:26.610]said, "Serving as a rural fellow
[00:02:28.830]in Dawes, Sheridan, and Sioux Counties for the summer
[00:02:31.350]proved to be one of the greatest experiences
[00:02:33.240]of my college career so far."
[00:02:35.460]Rural communities may be small, but they are mighty.
[00:02:38.580]They hold our state together
[00:02:39.930]and the driving force behind the good life
[00:02:42.300]that can only be experienced in Nebraska.
[00:02:45.291]To learn more about the Rural Fellowship Program
[00:02:48.120]or to complete your community application,
[00:02:50.610]go to ruralprosperityNE.unl.edu.
[00:02:54.780]For Nebraska Extension, this is Jordan Rasmussen.

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Community Conversations with Jordan Rasmussen

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