It all started when I read an article in the New York Times travel section about college students spending their summers working as interns. Nothing out of the ordinary there, I remember thinking, but as I continued to read, I realized that these weren’t just your average internships. These college students weren’t working in cubicles; they were working outside, on farms, and were getting paid nothing except the satisfaction they received from a day’s hard work in what I would soon refer to as “the fields.” After reading that article, it was as though a seed had been planted inside me and all I wanted to do was water it and experience its growth, and that’s exactly what I did.

What could be a better way to spend my summer than to intern at a farm? I remember thinking. I have always loved to garden, travel, and try new things, so when I was offered an internship at Lavender Hill Farm on Vashon Island, WA, I accepted, and within a week I was on my first solo trip to a part of the world I’d never been, to meet people I’d never met, and to experience ways of life I hadn’t ever experienced.

Throughout my stay at Lavender Hill Farm, I was able to observe and learn what it takes to operate a small farm. I now know that it’s best to harvest the lavender in the early mornings and evenings, it’s best to wear gloves when using a scythe to cut lavender, and that it’s best to be friendly and engaging with visitors and customers and, if you don’t want to get stung, with the bees as well. I learned that, just like in life, it’s best to be organized and efficient, but still retain your spontaneity, and know when to smell the roses…I mean, the lavender. I guess what I’m trying to say is that, even though there were times of sweat and soreness throughout my internship, I wouldn’t have wanted this past summer to play out any other way. Some of the best people you will ever meet, sights you will ever see, and lavender you will ever pick await you at Lavender Hill Farm. I have my memories, and while I wouldn’t trade them for the world, now is the time for you to make yours.

                                  Best wishes,

                                                        ~April Cumming~  

                                                      (Summer Intern ’09)