College students to gain hands-on experience as Cooperative Extension Service summer interns
May 21, 2026
By Rebekah Hall
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- Students are from Arkansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Germany
- Internship programs range from nine to 12 weeks
- Students majoring in environmental science, ag business, food science, more
(1,107 words)
Download photo of summer interns
LITTLE ROCK — John D. Anderson, extension director for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, advised the 2026 class of extension summer interns to “embrace questions you don’t know the answer to, because that’s how new knowledge gets created.”
“When I was a young specialist, I was terrified of being in a meeting and getting that question,” Anderson said. “I hated having to say, ‘I don’t know.’ But as I came to understand the job more, it became one of my favorite things, because that became my next idea that I could take back to my colleagues and say, ‘Hey, let’s find the answer.’ That turned into projects, it turned into grant funding, it turned into later extension programs.
“It should be a really exciting thing for you,” Anderson said. “A lot of great ideas come from that.”
Thirty students from colleges and universities in Arkansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Germany will serve as extension interns this summer. Participation is spread across four paid internship programs: the county agent internship program, the Experiential Scholars Program, the animal science internship and the 4-H and youth development state office internship. Volunteer interns will also lead programming and work with campers at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center.
The interns gathered at the Cooperative Extension Service state office in Little Rock on May 18 for their orientation.
Carla Due, extension Ouachita District director for the Division of Agriculture and coordinator of the county agent internship program, said extension has hired 11 past interns to join the organization as staff.
“It is critical to the mission of extension to provide this kind of hands-on learning experience to college students interested in this path, giving them the opportunity to see the day-to-day responsibilities of county agents,” Due said. “Our interns also benefit from establishing a professional network that can benefit them for the rest of their careers.”
Deacue Fields, vice president for agriculture for the Division of Agriculture, told interns that they will each “have the opportunity to work with and influence people.”
“One thing you’ll learn quickly at extension is that you have to build trust,” Fields said. “That’s something I learned right away. Trust is going to be important — trust that you know what you’re talking about, but also that you will do what you say you’re going to do.”
When asked what he sees for the future of the Cooperative Extension Service in 10 years, Anderson said he anticipates that the services the organization provides will be more valuable to Arkansans than it is today.
“Information is more widely available than it has ever been, but how do you know that it’s research-based, objective, trustworthy information?” Anderson said. “The more information we have access to, the more valuable the right information, at the right place, at the right time is. That is what extension provides and has always provided.
“I think extension has a very important role to play, arguably as important as it’s been at any time since our founding,” he said. “Our service is built on trust. As long as we do our job with integrity and maintain that trust, we’re going to be more valuable than ever.”
Education outside of the classroom
Trinity Foster, an Experiential Scholars Program, or ESP, intern for community development, said she applied for the program because of her positive experience in Arkansas 4-H, the extension youth development program.
“I was in 4-H for nine years, and it was a transformational part of my leadership experience,” Foster said. “Being able to intern, learn the ropes and give back to the place that gave so much to me is what made me want to apply for ESP.”
Foster studies political science at Southern Arkansas University and said she is looking forward to “branching out from the government side of things and into the community” during her internship.
Marlee Rainey, an ESP intern for water and soil conservation, is studying agriculture business on a pre-law track at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Rainey said she is interested in specializing in environmental law.
“I thought the ESP program would give me hands-on experience to actually get into the field and work with specialists, and I thought that would really prepare the foundation and be great groundwork for going into environmental law,” Rainey said.
Ben Haak, a student at John Brown University, said the leadership aspect of the ESP program and its networking opportunities appealed to him.
“After this, I eventually want to go into mitigation practices for sustainability for local farmers. This looked like a good internship that will provide not only technical expertise but also help build a lot of the networking that’s required,” Haak said. “I come from a family of dairy farmers, and if a farmer doesn’t trust you, they’re not going to work with you.”
“Building those relationships is really important, and I feel like this internship is a great opportunity to start that process,” Haak said.
2026 Summer Interns:
County Extension Agent interns
- David Cart, Arkansas State University: Craighead County, Agriculture
- Riley Jo Gossett, University of Tennessee at Martin: Greene County, Agriculture
- Khua Hudson, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville: Benton County, Agriculture
- Peyton Ketcher, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith: White County, 4-H
- Grant Kilpatrick, University of Arkansas at Monticello: Drew County, Agriculture
- Ashley Michaels, Arkansas State University-Beebe: Cleburne County, Agriculture
- Emily Murphy, Southern Arkansas University: Union County, Agriculture
- Haden Richardson, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith: Conway County, Agriculture
- Chelsey Russell, Southern Arkansas University: Lafayette County, Agriculture
- Korbin Singleton, Arkansas State University: Faulkner County, Agriculture
- Natalie Tedder, Southern Arkansas University: Garland County, 4-H
- Faith Turner, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff: Columbia County, Agriculture
- Claire Watson, Redlands Community College: Polk County, Agriculture
Experiential Scholars Program interns
Water and Soil Conservation
- Walker Ferguson, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
- Ben Haak, John Brown University
- Hank Martin, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
- Marlee Rainey, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
- Aditya Thrombe, Constructor University, Germany
Community Development
- Trinity Foster, Southern Arkansas University
- Anna Teague, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Leadership and Professional Development
- Cambry Brown, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Family and Consumer Sciences
- Abby Gifford, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Extension Animal Science interns
- Katelynn Horn, West Texas A&M University
- Ashlyn Lust, Ohio State University ATI
Extension 4-H and Youth Development State Office interns
- Haley Carter, Southern Arkansas University
- Rylee Lemley, Black River Technical College – transferring to Southern Arkansas University in fall 2026
C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center interns
- Sam Duncan, University of Central Arkansas
- Gracie Gates, Southern Arkansas University
- Heidi Hardaway, Southern Arkansas University
- Katie Wittenburg, John Brown University
Visit the Summer Internship Opportunities page on the Cooperative Extension Service website for more information about the internship programs.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at aaes.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 22 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall
rkhall@uada.edu
501-671-2061