Chosen to receive an NAFB Foundation Grant, WKDZ (Cadiz, KY) hired Caitlin Oakes to serve as the intern for the WKDZ Morning Ag Report and the Ag Edge website this summer. Caitlin is studying agribusiness at Murray State University, with a minor in mass communications. As she prepared for her senior year, Caitlin spent the summer working as the intern of WKDZ-WHVO News and Farm Director Alan Watts. Caitlin spent her summer focusing on ways to enhance the Morning Ag Report and AG Edge website. She did feature stories on local FFA chapters, the Trigg County Summer Farm Tour and other farm and agriculture events. Also, she produced numerous videos of events that she covered, and provided reports that aired during the Morning Ag Report. She is a member of the Murray State University FFA Chapter and serves as the communications officer for the Agribusiness Club.
Caitlin was a member of the Todd FFA Chapter, too, where she served as an officer. Caitlin gained her love for agriculture and telling the ag story from her grandfather, who was an FFA officer. She has worked on his farm for most of her life and still spends time on the weekends helping. When asked what she gained from the internship, Caitlin said, “I now have a better idea of what is involved in the media industry.” She adds, “There is more to the media industry than what I initially thought, with the use of video, audio, photos and social media.” Alan said, “The internship has given Caitlin a chance to put her passion for agriculture to use for telling the agriculture story." He noted, "Caitlin is a very talented writer who is able to find a story in the people that make agriculture what it is." Watts was told by a fellow student and friend of Caitlin's that her internship has impacted her choice about the career path that she wants to pursue.
