Say Hello to Wolf Tracks

Hi Everybody! I am Karsyn Westerbeek, but you can call me Wolf Tracks. I was born and raised in Warsaw, North Carolina but came to Raleigh for college. I attend N.C. State University where I am a rising senior. I am majoring in Communication with a minor in Business Administration, and I absolutely love it so far. In my spare time I play on my school’s club soccer team, hang out with friends, read and crochet. Fall is my favorite time of the year because not only is it football season (go Pack) but it’s also the time I get…

Continue Reading

In-person Interns are back: Meet Sweet Potato

Katie Hubbard

Hi, I’m Katie, recently nicknamed Sweet Potato by my fun and loving coworkers here at the Department of Agriculture. I am so lucky to be the first in-person intern since 2019; I was even granted my own ultra mini desk. (I’m only kidding), it’s wonderful here, and I can’t wait to become part of such a memorable event. A little bit about me, I’m a rising junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, where I am studying Communications with a concentration in media, technology, and production. Before starting college, I grew up in Wilkesboro, a rural farm-loving town at the foothills of the…

Continue Reading

Meet Blue Ribbon

Hey y’all! My name is Christa Dutton, but you can call me Blue Ribbon, a much more fun nickname. I just finished my freshman year at Wake Forest University (Go deacs!). I am planning to major in Communication with minors in Entrepreneurship and Journalism. I am a North Carolina girl through and through. I was born and raised in Knightdale, which is about 15 miles from the capital city of Raleigh, where I attended high school and spent a lot of my time growing up. I chose Blue Ribbon as my blogger alias because one of my favorite parts of…

Continue Reading

What it’s really like working as an intern at the State Fair

As the year comes to a close, so does my time with the N.C. Department of Agriculture. I still have winter break to look forward to, but holiday treats just can’t compare to the seeing the joy of fairgoers munching on turkey legs and deep-fried pumpkin pie. My time as an intern has been unforgettable. Over the summer, I was thrilled to spend my days interviewing ice cream shop owners, beekeeping entrepreneurs, Montagnard staff members and competition winners. In fact, my favorite part about my daily work at the department was getting to meet so many different people that all…

Continue Reading

Intern check-in

With the help of the Deep Fried crew, I’ve already checked several things off of my Internship To-Do List. In case you’re wondering if all I ever do is write Weekend Updates, I’m glad to tell you no; there are many other things I’ve worked on this summer. Blog: One of my responsibilities has been writing posts for this blog. Many of the Weekend Updates have my name signed to them, but I’m also working on a series of posts about contests and concerts at the 2013 State Fair. News Releases: A lot of the announcements that have been made…

Continue Reading

New kid on the blog

As a rising senior, and hopeful public relations practitioner, I have had my fair share of internship experiences. Each experience has initially been marked by that “first-day-of-kindergarten,” anxious feeling. My first day working with the N.C. State Fair was no different. However, unlike my past experiences, my first day of work took place at the Got to Be NC Festival. My nerves were immediately calmed when my first work assignment involved strolling around the Carolina Fiberfest exhibit, watching an antique tractor parade, feeding alpacas and photographing lawn mower races. Yup, my thoughts exactly—I have the best summer internship by far….

Continue Reading

Bearded Lady says goodbye…for now

  For the past 10 weeks I have had the opportunity to intern with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services through the North Carolina Youth Advocacy and Involvement Office’s internship program. I was one of 100 college students offered a summer position, and I feel fortunate to have made the cut. In this short time, I interviewed a rockin’ eco hero and a horse complex manager; I saw grown men chug milk and identified a former commodity queen; I covered Blueberry Day and Peach Day; and I discussed how social media is becoming a larger force in all our lives. I…

Continue Reading

First Week

This week is my first week working with the N.C. State Fair. I’m excited about the opportunity, and to be honest, a little nervous. The phrase “no pressure” has ended most sentences instead of a punctuation mark. You were selected from 714 applicants (no pressure) You are our first male intern (no pressure) Your first blog post is due at the end of this week (no pressure) I thought I would start by sharing a little bit about my home for the next 10 weeks. I imagine some of you think, as I did, that all the behind-the-scenes magic of…

Continue Reading