{"id":26872,"date":"2023-08-15T10:46:53","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T14:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=26872"},"modified":"2023-08-16T10:49:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T14:49:58","slug":"a-summer-on-the-farm-opens-interns-eyes-to-possibilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/a-summer-on-the-farm-opens-interns-eyes-to-possibilities\/","title":{"rendered":"A summer on the farm opens intern\u2019s eyes to possibilities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kaycie Blankenship \u201924 has given a lot of thought to how modern humanity relates to the natural world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe culture of disposability and fast fashion and all of those things really influence the way that we interact with the environment,\u201d she said. \u201cIt disconnects us from nature. It\u2019s affecting the planet and in turn affecting us as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

In contrast, Blankenship, a double major in Earth and environmental science<\/a> (EES) and philosophy<\/a> with a minor in environmental humanities<\/a>, has sought connection with nature directly. Almost immediately upon arriving on campus as a sophomore after a year of remote learning during COVID-19, she began working on the Furman Farm<\/a> as an intern for The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities<\/a>, learning about self-sustaining and farm-to-fork methods.<\/p>\n

Although planting, harvesting, fertilizing and tilling the farm was a novel experience, \u201cI liked working outdoors,\u201d she said. \u201cI had never done any sort of manual labor like that before, so it was very different from anything I had been used to. It wasn\u2019t until coming to Furman that I realized that I could make a career out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Practical experience on the farm<\/h3>\n
\"\"

Kaycie Blankenship \u201924 cleans out a koi pond as part of her Summer 2023 internship at Rambling Rosa Farm in Pickens County, South Carolina.<\/p><\/div>\n

Blankenship has been getting more dirt under her fingernails during Summer 2023, as an intern<\/a> for Rambling Rosa Farm<\/a> in Pickens County, South Carolina. The owners \u2013 first-time farmers Brittany Arsiniega, a former assistant professor of politics and international affairs at Furman, and her husband, Mike \u2013 started the seven-acre farm in 2020 to grow organic produce and fruit, care for rescued and adopted animals and provide educational programs.<\/p>\n

Eunice Kim<\/a>, an assistant professor of classics and Blankenship\u2019s faculty mentor through the Hearst Fellowship<\/a>, helped connect the student to her former colleague Arsiniega.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known Kaycie has always been interested in environmental stewardship and that she wanted to combine and apply her EES major and humanities minor to that interest,\u201d said Kim. \u201cSo now, she has gotten great firsthand experience in a way that allows for her to apply her academic studies practically. She\u2019s gained exposure to a new industry, as well as people in that industry, that positions her better to pursue it further should she wish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI really love it,\u201d Blankenship said. \u201cDay to day, you\u2019re doing different tasks; it changes depending on what needs to be done at the farm. I love the fast pace and the independence of it, and just being around the animals, being out in nature \u2013 it\u2019s very calming and lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I have what it takes\u2019<\/h3>\n

Beyond regular chores like caring for the animals and plants, the intern\u2019s summer projects include constructing high tunnels,<\/a>\u00a0greenhouse-like structures that allow farmers to control weather conditions, extend the growing season and water plants using drip irrigation. Blankenship is also creating an ecosystem enrichment plan for the farm\u2019s koi pond, which she plans to present in Spring 2024 at Furman Engaged<\/a>, a daylong campuswide celebration of engaged learning experiences.<\/p>\n

Internships are not only integral to The Furman Advantage<\/a> \u2013 an educational framework that provides every student an individualized educational pathway and opportunities for high-impact learning experiences \u2013 they also enhance a modern liberal arts and sciences education, said Kim.<\/p>\n

\u201cEngaged experiences like that or other comparable ones \u2013 like undergraduate research<\/a> and study away<\/a> \u2013 help provide students with a more holistic education and grounding to help them grow and cultivate their personal and professional capacities,\u201d she said. \u201cWithout The Furman Advantage, many students may very well not be able to access such engaged experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experience has also made Blankenship more certain on her academic and professional path \u2013 whether it\u2019s paved or unpaved.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing this has really proven to me that I have what it takes to work outdoors,\u201d said Blankenship, who lists forest ranger as one possible career. \u201cI don\u2019t mind the dirt or the bugs. I like getting my hands dirty.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Kaycie Blankenship \u201924, a 7-acre organic farm in Pickens County was the perfect place to get her hands dirty and cultivate her future plans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":26874,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,58,36,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-environmental-and-sustainability-sciences","category-internships","category-philosophy","category-the-furman-advantage"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}