The classroom part of my Master Gardener classes ended a couple of weeks ago and I can't believe how quickly it went. Each week, the topics and the speakers were so incredibly interesting, that our 8-hour days just flew.
We learned a great deal of technical information via our manuals and the extra handouts we received during each class, but what really made it all real were the various speakers we had over the course of nine weeks. They brought it all to life.
Shortly before our last class, we experienced a loss that will always be remembered by our class and the Master Gardeners as a group. One of our fellow classmates was killed in a car accident in front of her home, on her husband's birthday, the day before their anniversary. Two other classmates and I rode to and from class together with Deb each week, and we were deeply moved by this tragedy.
It was decided to remember Deb by making her an honorary Master Gardener, since she was nearly finished with classes and most certainly would have completed the requirements had her young life not been cut short. A tree will be planted in her memory in the park in her hometown.
Our final exam consisted of 20 essay questions encompassing the topics we studied each week and putting it to practical use. It was a take-home test and took me four hours to complete! During our last class, we went over each question in detail, which was a learning experience in itself. Hearing each person's perspective on the situations in the questions helped me to think about things in different ways.
We now are required to complete 50 hours of volunteer work in our community, which may include working to maintain public gardens, teaching classes at garden centers, writing articles for various publications, and answering Hot Line queries at the county extension office, just to name a few. Later this fall, there will be a recognition of those that completed the requirements and we will then officially be Master Gardeners!
"Bejeweled"
4 comments:
Congrats Kylee. You will have fun and those 50 hours will add up quickly.
Congratulations, Kylee! I know just how you feel--we completed our classes a month ago, and I would have to say it was definitely worth all the work. Interesting how different states have different requirements--we have to complete 60 hrs. of volunteer work, including 30 hours in the Extension Office. And our test was 100 of the hardest multiple choice questions I've ever seen! But then I always preferred essay questions on tests:)
I am so sorry about the loss of your classmate. How tragic! Planting a tree in her memory is a wonderful way to honor her.
Congratulations! I still want to do this someday. If only someone would give me the time! I even got a great volunteer opportunity on my road.
Someday I'll do it! I can't get my English Masters (no time, too far), so this is a close second :)
Congratulations Kylee! I know you'll enjoy the volunteer work. I've been having so much fun with it. The final test was pretty easy for me answers-wise, but we had to find the pages in the manual and reference them in our answers - it took many hours locating the correct pages.
I'm so sorry about the loss of your classmate. How sad for her family and for your MG group.
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