Washakie County 4-H intern using classwork to help guide junior leaders

WORLAND – Washakie County 4-H intern Kellynne Doyle, has been an 4-H intern for two summers in preparation of one day becoming a 4-H youth educator.

“I was in 4-H for nine or 10 years and I did the internship last year too and that’s kind of what I am thinking about going into with my degree is maybe 4-H development,” Doyle said. She will be graduating from the University of Wyoming next May with a major in agriculture communication and a minor in human development and family sciences.

When asked if her internship with 4-H for the last two summers has helped with her studies, Doyle stated that it’s actually the other way around. Her studies have helped her be a better intern. “I think my schooling helps with this internship because the classes that I have taken give me a lot more insight. I took an adolescence class last year which helped me a lot with the junior leaders and knowing what developmental stages they are at in their life. It helps you know what is going on in the kids’ life so you can better understand how to help them develop,” she said.

When most people think of 4-H, the tendency is to think of showing animals and taking care of animals, but there is another side to 4-H. Doyle participated in both the archery and fabrics and fashion areas of 4-H. In archery she said that while she never did all that spectacular, she enjoyed the practices every Monday and competed at county, state and fair shoots. She explained that her whole family was into archery and that her father was and still is the archery leader.

In fabric and fashion, Doyle started out sewing her own clothes and progressed as she learned more. “I did sewing and quilting my first few years and then I got into buymanship, which is where you basically buy an outfit and while you are shopping you compare prices of similar articles of clothing and the quality of the items and you make a portfolio about that project/ outfit,” she said.

While Doyle may have never shown livestock with 4-H, she did try her hand at showing miniature Herefords when she got into high school with FFA (Future Farmers of America) and also did range judging for a few years.

After Doyle graduates, she has no definite plans on where she is going to settle down. “I’m not sure, it kind of just depends on where life takes me.”