Jan Martin – Greenhouse Management Intern

Hello, my name is Jan Martin and I am a junior here at Garden Spot High School. I am interning in the Agriculture Department with Mrs. Ranck as the greenhouse manager. I began my internship second semester and it has been cut short due to COVID-19. Although I did not get to spend a whole semester in the department I still learned a lot and I am so glad I got the opportunity to experience what it would be like to run a greenhouse.

When I was a freshman, I had the opportunity to take the plant science class which was an eye-opener for me because I never had the chance to work in a greenhouse before or study plants in depth. Throughout my high school career so far I have been in and out of the greenhouse, and when I was offered the opportunity to take this internship I jumped on it right away. It taught me so much about how to manage my time and really focus on one thing at a time.

My everyday activities varied since we did not have plants in the greenhouse at the beginning of the semester. Some of the jobs included in the internship were helping students in the greenhouse, researching ideas for floral sales, and organizing the greenhouse. Once the plant plugs arrived I helped teach the students how to properly transplant the plug into individual pots, and how to properly water the plants. I also got the opportunity to plan and teach a lesson to the plant science class on flower anatomy. I also got the chance to buy and learn more about propagating succulents.

In the future, I know I want a career based agriculture so this internship has helped me to see a part of agriculture I could go into. Being a farmer’s daughter I get to see how much you can really learn from plants and crops and also how much you need to know, so it was beneficial for me to work alongside Mrs. Ranck learning more about plants and management. I am so thankful for the internship program at Garden Spot High School and that I was able to be a part of it.