Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 119. No.30	July 28 , 2010

Hardin County roots benefit
4-H intern Dayna Parrett

If you ask Meade County 4-H intern, Dayna Parrett about her experiences in the 4-H youth education and leadership program, she smiles and starts off along a path featuring pigs and goats.

This super-organized gal, the daughter of Dennis and Lisa Parrett, Cecilia, might call Hardin County home, but she owes her intern experience to her University of Kentucky professor.

Her organization shows through in the color-coded date planner on her desk and the yellow sticky notes affixed on her desk delineating the next project she has to tackle – in this case finding volunteer youth to supervise the fair educational building.

Meade County 4-Hers got a chance to interact with her during this week’s fair, at camp and during teen leadership events.

Majoring in family sciences – which Parrett explained is the psychology of the whole family – one wonders how that would relate to a 4-H intern/Extension position.

“The program is about family dynamics and concepts and how they work together and the ways that they do,” she explained. “It’s hard to explain, but I really love it.”

As a senior, she graduates in December and plans to attend graduate school.

“I have considered Extension or something relating to children or teaching. My minor is in psychology,” she said.

She credited her college adviser for luring her into the internship program, but despite the fact she wasn’t sure she really wanted to partake in it, ultimately she was glad she did.

“I applied for the internship and have just loved it so far,” she said. Her last day will be July 31, just days after her many friends at the fair offer their final farewells to her.

During her program, Parrett has met a lot of the Meade County 4-H youth through kitchen camps, teen leadership camp and the annual summer camp.

“I have really gotten to know them. I interviewed some of the teen counselors for the camp and also for the state teen conference,” she said.

In her 4-H career, Parrett could be found in the show ring at the Hardin County Fair showing Hampshire, Yorkshire and Duroc market hogs.

“At least two of the pigs that I bought came from Meade County and one of them was awarded grand champion,” she said.

Although she was a little sheepish at showing her hogs, she admitted it was something that was paying for her college education, so she went along with the idea.

“I also gained more confidence in myself through the internship and the fact I could do a big-girl job,” she said, despite the early mornings and the 40-minute commute to the Old Ekron Road office.

She had nothing but praise for county 4-H Youth Extension Agent Carole Goodwin.

“She really lets me take control. I’ve seen what makes the kids interested and write reports. It’s been a whole smorgasbord of things that I have gotten to do here,” she said.

She also said the other staff have treated her as an equal, a fact she appreciated.

“They have all been really cool to me,” she said.

As the center child, Parrett has an older sister, Devan and a younger sister, Kristen. Not sure how Kristen arrived in a family whose first names thrived on D’s, they also showed animals at the fair with her.

Many Meade County FFA members might know the name, as she was president of the Central Hardin FFA chapter and regional vice president of the Lincoln Trail District of the FFA.
And now she’s back in the showring – again.

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