HOWDY!
My name is Hallie (pronounced Haylee) Morrison, I’m a Junior Horticulture major from College Station, Texas and a member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 2015!!!BUT more importantly; I am THE loudest, THE proudest, most green thumbed intern for the National Junior Master Gardener Program!
A-A-A-WHOOP!
I am so pleased to welcome you to my Summer 2014 Internship blog!
Starting May 27 I began my internship with the National Junior Master Gardener program! I’m so excited to be spending my summer working with this program and I’m writing this blog so I can share my experiences with all of you! (My biggest hope is that you find my gardening word play and puns as funny as I do…) All jokes aside, I am extremely passionate about Horticulture and I am so grateful for this experience! For my first post I wanted to share some background information about me and tell the story on how I got this internship. I will also be explaining some of the responsibilities I will have during the next 9 weeks, but first here is a little about me.
I am an extremely creative and visual person and I owe all the credit to my mom. My mom is one of the most creative women I have ever known! She not only gave me her creativity, but she also gave me her love of plants! Thanks Mom! I was also lucky enough to have a sister who minored in Horticulture and passed her obsession for plant identification to me at a young age! Thanks sis! As I said before, I am a Horticulture major, with an emphasis in Floriculture. I hope to one day own my own floral studio or become an event planner with a emphasis in weddings.
When I was in 4th grade at Rock Prairie Elementary we had an activity called “Fun Friday”. During this time we got to spend the day in someone else’s class doing an activity of our choice, and I chose the Junior Master Gardener class! We learned all about plants and did experiments with seeds and light; we even had sing-a-longs about plants with Mr. Cain, our JMG instructor! I did all kinds of projects and eventually worked through the whole JMG manual! I was the only person in my class to finish, with a whole lot of help from my mom! Thanks again Mom! At the end of our “Fun Friday” class, we were awarded a certificate to show that we had completed the requirements and were officially Junior Master Gardeners! The cool thing about this program is that part of completing tasks in the manual meant you got a lapel pin with 3 leaves. For every part of the manual you completed, you got to add a different shield behind the leaves! I got all of the shields for my pin along with my certificate of completion, and even after 12 years they are both still in good condition! The Junior Master Gardener class took my love for plants further then I could have ever imagined. It impacted my life so much that I used it as the introduction paragraph in my admissions essay to Texas A&M University!
“If you were to open my jewelry box at home you would find a three-piece gold lapel pin, the first piece shaped into 3 leaves painted in green, the second piece a yellow shield, and the third a blue crest with a hunter green garland. I earned that pin in the fourth grade after completion of the Junior Master Gardener program created by Texas A&M University, and that is when my love for plants really seeded itself (unintentional plant pun, I swear 😉. That is why I am applying for admission into the Horticulture Program at A&M – to continue my love of plants from the very source.” 
When I got my certificate back in 2002, I was interviewed by a man who worked for JMG. He interviewed me because I completed my manual and my interview was played on the evening news. The man who interviewed me is named Randy Seagraves; not only does he still work for JMG, he is the direct supervisor of my internship! If ever there was a story that truly went full circle, this is this one. It still puts chills down my spine when I think about how all of this has played out! This is true sign that I am headed in the right direction so I guess it’s true what they say “The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies” – Gertrude Jekyll
During my internship I will be working with the program here in the United State’s, more specifically in Aggieland! I will be responsible for creating some of the programs that will be used in educational lessons for students in an online format, and preparing supplies for instructors. I will also be creating media videos for revamping of the JMG website, and developing a social media calendar that will act as an access point to allow all JMG instructors to stay updated on JMG events. What I am most looking forward to is participating in the JMG events, particularly the ones where I get a little dirt under my fingernails!
I have no doubt that it is going to be a terrific summer and I hope that I find more reasons to love Horticulture! I also hope that as I educate a younger generation, I can inspire a child to love plants just as others have inspired me!
Until next thyme, I leave you with my favorite garden quote!!
Have a grape day!
Thank & Dig’Em,
Hallie
To follow my personal internship blog please visit: http://halliemorrisonsummer2014internship.blogspot.com/
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