Local high school student, Ashley Clemmensen, is serving her community and indulging her love of history by working as an intern for The Canyons & Plains of the Southeast Colorado Regional Heritage Taskforce, Inc., (SECORHT). SECORHT is a six-county organization in Southeast Colorado comprised of partners including local elected officials, National Park Service representatives, local preservation commissions, local chambers of commerce, local economic development agencies, tourism-related businesses, The Colorado Welcome Center in Lamar, Colorado State Parks, Colorado Division of Wildlife, and interested citizens. The six counties include Baca, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero and Prowers.
Included in SECORHT's strategic plan is the establishment of a Youth Program aimed at keeping youth from the southeast involved in the Preserve America Youth Summit. Clemmensen has participated in the Youth Summit and recently accepted the internship which was created for the purpose of launching the program. The position will also fulfill FFA requirements for Clemmensen's school project. She says it has been difficult to balance her busy schedule as an active student but because the internship qualifies as part of her Supervised Agriculture Experience, she is able to be involved in activities she finds important and enjoys.
Clemmensen works with managing director, Katie Nolan and chairperson, Jeanne Fenter of Fowler.
As part of her role to build youth involvement and promote programs Clemmensen utilizes and creates social media sites for communication, participates in after school meetings with Nolan, Fenter and Michelle Stevens, Archaeologist, Program Manager of Comanche National Grassland, brings youth together with Historic Theater Owners for previewing film proposals to produce public service announcements about the agricultural and heritage resources in southeast Colorado and assists in arranging interviews with youth about the importance of their heritage to be included in PSAs. She also encourages youth to become involved in preservation projects with local communities.
“History is something I really enjoy and being able to help educate others my age of the importance of preserving it is really an honor,” comments Clemmensen. “I'm having a blast!”
Move information about SECORHT and the work they do can be found online at www.secoloradoheritage.com.
