LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. — As her junior year at the University of Tennessee began to wind down, Maggie Lindsey was unsure of what her next step would look like.
With a major in environmental and soil science, backed up by a double minor in watershed and plant science, there were plenty of opportunities but few that felt like the right fit.
When she got a call from the Extension office, just a few miles down the road from where her family grew up, it felt like the perfect opportunity had landed right in her lap.
REACHING ‘THE COMMUNITY I WAS RAISED IN’
“I wanted to use my degree to reach the community that I was raised in,” Lindsey said. “I figured there was no better option than Extension … where you can reach all different ages and generations.
“It’s just awesome getting to reach out and make all these connections.”
Lindsey currently holds the title of Agriculture and Natural Resource intern over at the University of Tennessee extension in Loudon County, where she’s spent her summer under the tutelage of John Goddard as she checks just about every box of responsibility there is to have during a summer collecting samples on the farm.
A big portion of her break has been spent out on rural farmland, meeting its owners and sustainers and she and Goddard collect samples of hay for testing and eventual entry into the Tennessee State Fair.
The process involves drilling to the center of a bale, pulling out what Lindsey refers to as a “core sample” to take back to the office to test its nutrition value among other qualifying elements.
Lindsey said her mentor can identify types of hay bales purely off of an eye test alone.
NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES, RESPONSIBILITIES
But setting up meetings with farm hands is far from the extent of her responsibilities.
Lindsey has also dipped into the 4-H program, currently filled with a slew of summer activities for out-of-school children … to help foster a stronger sense of learning and leadership during their days off as well.
She’s attended the Eastern Region Horse Show, Eastern Region Livestock Judging Competition — as well as being a celebrity guest at a few of the 4-H’s many summer programs.
Lindsey said that while her family were regular attendees of the camp during their adolescence, she’s currently making up for lost time being able to participate as an adult where she didn’t in her youth.
“We’ve been putting these skills to use,” Lindsey said. “Teaching these kids about agriculture that have never been in it before, so that’s really fun as well.
“Getting to see the kids, teach them new things, and also bring all that together with my program as well.”
FINDING HER FOOTING (AGAIN)
Something of a local, the work that the UT Extension does has a personal sentiment for an agriculture student now finding her footing back under the soil she learned to walk on.
Lindsey and her family have been living in the Loudon County area for years, with Lindsey herself attending Steekee Elementary School before taking her academic journey to Sweetwater.
She said that among all the new connections she’s made, there’s a few familiar faces and family friends in the crowd … an aspect of the job she’s extremely grateful for.
“That’s why I knew for sure that I wanted this position,” Lindsey said. “Because it was just right out my back door.
“Not that I wouldn’t want to be involved in another county, but it’s just so personal and homey and comfortable in a good way. Getting to be with people who know me and know my family is awesome.”
EXTENDING HER COMFORT ZONE
Though the comforts of home are present, it hasn’t stopped her from exiting her comfort zone from an academic perspective.
Much of Lindsey’s curriculum surrounds plant and soil sciences, elements that she’s seen as mere pictures in a textbook before the start of her summer.
Now, with hands-on experience in the field she’s heard so much about, the Extension intern feels poised for success in her next stage of life.
Where that next stage leads her, Lindsey hopes, is back at the Extension for a full-time role following her graduation.
She’s currently set to walk across the stage in December, and she said that she’s “pretty much 100%” sure that pursuing a role more permanent than a summer gig with the organization is where she envisions herself come January.
Apart from the experience and tangible skills she can walk away with, she also regrets that it will be hard to not see her new co-workers everyday, who have only amplified that at-home feeling she’s been enjoying.
“They love a local in the office,” Lindsey said.
